


The Prefect's Obsession

by katesfire



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Bajoran, Cardassian, Dukat - Freeform, F/M, Kira - Freeform, Star Trek DS9 - Freeform, Star Trek Terok Nor Lost Era Book Trilogy, Terok Nor (Star Trek)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 13:51:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 32,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18367310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katesfire/pseuds/katesfire
Summary: According to the story told in the Terok Nor Lost Era Trilogy, Dukat’s interest in Kira Nerys was borderline obsession.Despite his continued efforts and several opportunities, he never did manage to capture the young redheaded rebel.But… what if he did?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cheile (Cheile)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheile/gifts).



> Authors Notes:  
> This was my spawn, but I must extend a special thank you to Cheile for the beta, the advice on Bajor, Terok Nor/DS9, the resistance, and for co-proing the parts with Reanla Kaelinn.
> 
> Also, this wouldn’t have been possible without wiki memory alpha, wiki memory beta, and the Lost Era Terok Nor books. I strongly encourage reading the books first, however this story is stand-alone and if you are familiar with DS9 and any of the Bajor/DS9/Terok Nor and Kira/Dukat back-story, you will be fine reading it without the books. 
> 
> It is very important to note that in Bajoran culture, children become adults at the age of fourteen years old. Please keep that in mind when reading this.   
> Also, a warning must be issued that there is suggested child abuse. War does terrible things to everyone involved especially the people and involves topics we would all rather believe didn’t exist. If you are sensitive to suggested rape or child abuse or any of the evils of war, please skip.   
> There is nothing graphic, everything is all implied or suggested. 
> 
> Glossary: 
> 
> shai'tal: Bajoran word for angel  
> ale’al: Bajoran word for lover or beloved  
> leh’le: Bajoran word for little one  
> duranja: large, ornate Bajoran prayer oil lap  
> Bajoran death prayer: raka-ja ut shala morala... ema bo roo kana... uranak... ralanon Vilena... propeh va nara ehsuk shala-kan vunek (translation: do not let her walk alone... guide her on her journey... protect... the one named Vilena... take her into the gates of heaven...)  
> cherka: Bajoran goat-type mammal  
> pagh: Bajoran word for the soul 
> 
> Disclaimer:  
> This would not have been written were it not for the Lost Era Terok Nor books. All DS9 characters and everything Trek belongs to the powers that be. I am just letting them out for some air. Any bits of information/ideas borrowed from the Lost Era Terok Nor books were simply borrowed. I appreciate the authors for setting the basis for this. No copyright infringement intended whatsoever.

_The bitter wind ripped through her shoulder-length red hair as branches reached out to tear at her exposed arms and legs. She ducked and dodged the larger, low-hanging limbs and leapt over those that threatened to trip her. She sucked in icy breaths that seared her lungs. She had to keep going. Stopping to ease her screaming muscles or her burning lungs meant capture by the gray-skinned predator that chased her. She could see his menacing smile in her mind’s eye, and she knew the fate that would befall her if she stopped now. Running through the nighttime forest had become common-place for her once proud people who had lived a life of comfort and ease. She wasn’t old enough to remember a time without the gray-skinned invaders, but she wanted to help see in a future that didn’t include them. For now, she was left with no other option but to run for her life and her virtue._

_Fear and adrenaline were all that drove her. She knew this man. She had never actually seen his face, but somewhere deep within, she knew him, was connected to him. They had a history other than that shared by all of the Bajorans to the Prefect of their world. Their particular history was of a personal nature, and she could only assume it had something to do with all of those extra rations she and her family had received during the years of her childhood._

_She ducked a particularly low-slung limb and she instantly knew she should have leapt rather than ducked because her feet caught and the next thing she knew she was tumbling through the twisted branches and roughage of the forest floor. Before she could move she felt a pair of cold hands grab her arm and a scream erupted from her throat. The unmistakable hiss of a hypospray was all she wrote and suddenly, there was nothing._

            Nerys bolted up off of her pallet and bit back her scream. She allowed herself a few gulping breaths of air and ran her fingers through her coppery hair, trying to center herself. This was the fourth time this week that she had had this same nightmare. Always running from a man she assumed to be Cardassian, always trying to avoid capture by a man whom she felt was vaguely familiar. She wished she could pinpoint why she felt as though she knew him. She never got close enough to any Cardassian to learn their names or to be able to distinguish their different features let alone feel that any of them were familiar.

            She shook the remnants of the dream away and set about making breakfast. The sticky oatmeal-type rations felt like glue in her mouth, but it was the difference between life and death. She had been weaned from her mother’s breast on the stuff and it meant survival. In a round-about way, she had the Cardassians to thank for her small stature. It was her slight form brought on by improper nutrition that allowed her to circumvent their security grid.

            After a quick breakfast, she slithered her way through the winding caves to do the weather report. It was a minimal risk, but she was happy to take it for a breath of fresh air. As she slipped into the day, she was blown backwards by a numbing gust of wind. Her teeth chattered and she felt the icy bite in her lungs, drawing back memories of her dream. Icy winds, her chest heaving with exertion, chilly hands gripping her… Nerys closed her eyes and tried to force the dream into recession but this time it just wouldn’t go away. It kept eating at her consciousness, even as she caught sight of a child wandering towards the wood. Despite herself, she cried out to the child, warning her against going into the woods, but her voice was carried away by the storm. She started to turn her back, but her conscience pecked at her and she turned back, seeing the small figure slip through the trees. The storm raged in and, against her better judgment, Nerys left the protective caves to go after the wayward child who was facing certain death by venturing into the forest, especially in a storm.

 

*********

 

            _He was on her trail. Despite the roar of the icy wind through the gnarled trees, he could hear the crunching of her feet in the debris of the forest floor. Every now and again, the breeze carried the sweet scent of her back to him and his determination grew. She had eluded him for so long and the thought that she was nearly within his grasp sent a ripple of excitement through his body. Even the bitterness of the wind was not enough to curb him._

_It was the thought of her that drove him forward. The silky warmth of her soft skin, the short auburn locks he would insist she let grow long, the fire in her molten brown eyes. She would fight him, she would resist him to within an inch of her life, but he would win. She would break and then be pliable to his will._

_Then he saw her stumble. He was on her before she could regroup. As soon as his hands wrapped around her arms, a piercing shriek erupted from her throat and he nearly released her to shield his ears. He forced himself to hang onto her and the shriek subsided as she changed her tactics to kicking and trying to twist free from his grasp. A quick one-handed maneuver with a hypo spray was enough to subdue her. He cradled her small, limp form in his arms and sucked in a victorious breath of icy air. Skrain Dukat gazed down at the beautiful woman lying against his chest and he smiled._

Skrain Dukat was ripped from his pleasant dream by the form that shifted beside him. He felt a flash of anger at having been interrupted just as he had captured the elusive Kira Nerys, but resisted the urge to retaliate. Instead, he pillowed his head on his arm and stared at the sleeping woman at his side. Her long auburn hair was spilled over the pillow and fluttering lids hid her chocolate brown eyes. He liked to imagine she was Nerys though her face held no likeness at all and she was about eight centimeters too tall. He let his eyes scan over the porcelain skin of An’thlyn Gwenil, marred by the bluish spots where his fingers had gripped her arms, then her hips. Their lovemaking was fierce and demanding whenever he had been slighted by the Bajoran resistance. This time it had been the cell that Kira Nerys ran with. Once again, she had slipped between his fingers and it had frustrated him. Gwenil had paid the price for not being Nerys. He had cracked his eyes a slit, just enough for his fantasy to be shattered and the Nerys in his mind to slip away, just as the real one had. He had bruised her as, in his mind, he clutched at fleeting images of the woman he desired.

            “Ops to Dukat.”

            Shaken from the hard stare he had fixed Gwenil in, he stood and left the room to take the call. There were some things she did not need to be privy to.

            “Dukat here,” he responded.

            “You have an urgent call from the surface.”

            “Put it through,” he ordered, seating himself at the terminal and punching in his access code.

            “Prefect, I have located Kira Nerys!” Basso Tromac announced in his irritatingly excited tone.

            Dukat’s eyes narrowed as his lips curled back ever so slightly. “Where is she?”

            “I was just informed by a scout that she was seen heading into the woods at the base of the mountains near Kendra. She did not trip the detection grid, though. We believe there is a flaw in its design. Its detection parameters are set to the size of a Bajoran male, give or take a few centimeters, while Kira is…”

            “Never mind that. I want her captured and brought to me alive. She is not to even have suffered a scratch or a bruise; do I make myself clear?”

            Basso’s eyes narrowed. “As the Prophets’ chimes, Prefect.”

            Dukat gazed back into where Gwenil lay sleeping, unaware that her usefulness as the prefect’s mistress had expired, but he was reasonably certain that the ore processing facility could use another able body.

           

*********

 

            Kira dared not call aloud to the child, who had quite a lead on her. One could never be certain where a Union solider would turn up. Instead, she tracked the child as she had been taught by Shakaar. She warmed against the impending storm at the thought of the leader of their cell. She never would have admitted it to anyone, that since her body had awakened to the discovery of him, she wanted him.

            _Where are you?_   She silently asked the child as she pressed on, led by the freshly overturned floor debris of the forest. Then, she saw a flash of blonde hair as the child slipped through a gathering of thick trees. She charged forward towards the child and finally came to within a few meters.

            “Hey, come back here! Don’t you know you shouldn’t be in the forest alone? There’s a storm coming!”

            The girl child stopped and gazed up at Nerys, her eyes empty and devoid of life. The bruises and tattered clothes told her the story of so many young girls on Bajor. Starving, uncleanly, unkempt, and an object of entertainment for the twisted desires of some Cardassian soldier. This child couldn’t have been more than eleven years old and she was so gaunt she looked as though she hadn’t eaten in a week.

            “What’s your name?” Kira asked as she reached into her satchel and handed the girl a few ration cakes.

            The blue eyes grew large and terrified as they focused on something over Kira’s shoulder and she suddenly knew there was something terribly wrong.

            “I’m sorry,” she sobbed as she took a step back.

            Kira’s instincts screamed for her to run, but the unmistakable hiss of a hypospray told her it was too late.

 

*********

 

            “You did well, my pet,” Glinn Gartin Dernik praised the little blonde who sat on the edge of his bed. She kept her flawless blue eyes averted to the floor and simply nodded. He could tell she was troubled but he paid her worries little mind. Those worries of hers would be much worse were she to defy him. She was here to service him in whatever capacity he desired. He had learned that plucking a Bajoran girl from her family at the tender age of ten or eleven allowed him the pliability needed to mold her and shape her to suit his purposes. The pretty little slip of a girl at his side had become his pet project since he found her lost and alone sometime about her eighth year. Up until recently he had only used her for recon and information purposes but since the passage of her thirteenth birthday, she had come to serve other carnal purposes and he had decided he liked her very much. He already had grandiose plans that involved inserting her into one of the resistance cells and she had proved herself worthy of such an operation by assisting them in capturing Kira Nerys for the Prefect.

            Vilena Solita hung her head in shame. Her stomach churned and her shoulders drooped. She had heard Kira Nerys’ name before in conjunction with the resistance and had longed to be like her. The stories had raced like wild fire about Gallitep and what she had helped to do there and Solita wished she could have been with her. That day, she had been curled into a corner crying for her lost virtue because Gartin had decided to change the terms of their relationship. She had added the title of ‘comfort woman’ to ‘trainee’ and ‘collaborator’. She was ashamed to call herself Bajoran.

            “Solita, my dear, it is time for dinner. I demand to be fed.”

            Dinnertime. She longed for a loaf of mapa bread and a cup of deka tea but she had to settle for licking the remains of the distasteful zabu stew from his bowl and quenching her thirst on the thimble full of red leaf tea he chose to leave in the bottom of his cup for her. He rarely fed her and refused to allow her to dine on anything of substance. He told her that, by keeping her weak and hungry, she looked like all of the other Bajorans on the planet; that she wasn’t to become comfortable and plump like the useless mistresses of the Prefect. How Solita wished to be one of those women the prefect kept, well fed and lavishly clothed as Gartin told her they were.

            Solita fetched the bowl of stew from the replicator along with the piping hot cup of red leaf tea. Gently, she laid the tray across his lap and took her customary position at the foot of the bed with her back to him. He told her if she watched him eat, it looked as though she were begging like a starving riding hound. She wasn’t particularly hungry anyway. She was still fretting over the fact that she had helped capture Kira Nerys for the Prefect.

            “Glinn, what will happen to the resistance fighter we captured?”

            “Why do you care?” he demanded, then sucked down the last spoonful of the stew.

            “I would like know what weight my actions carry. It would be important to be aware of the consequences of treachery against the Cardassian Union.” She had to be careful to phrase her reasons correctly. She did not want him to know she was sick over the fate she had helped to deal to the young resistance fighter.

            “My dear, Kira Nerys is not a typical case. The Prefect has a special interest in her and intends to take her for a mistress.”

            Solita couldn’t help but feel a bit of relief. At least Kira wouldn’t be paying for her part in Gallitep with her life, nor would she find herself in ore processing if she was smart. She could at least live out her life in lavish comfort with plenty to eat. Her conscience nagged at her, despite the fact that she tried to reassure herself about Kira’s fate. Kira was a resistance fighter and as much as Solita liked to envision her being full and well dressed, she knew Kira would never indulge in such comforts while her people were suffering. Solita was so ashamed of herself for having played a part in condemning one of those who had lived her life on the edge, trying to free their people from the oppressive Cardassians.

            Solita stiffened as the Glinn drug his fingers over her scantily clad back. The white shift he had given her to wear was practically thin enough to see through and the cold of his fingers felt like cubes of ice. She shivered in disgust, but he took it as a sign of arousal and pulled her to him.

            “You have been such a wonderful investment of my time, Solita. Today was a big payoff and now we celebrate your success.”

            Solita felt him leave the bed for a moment and, when he returned, she turned to find him holding a platter of alvas, jumja sticks, klavaatu, moba fruit and a decanter of spring wine. Her mouth watered at the sight and her stomach growled in spite of herself. Despite his abhorrence of begging, she looked at him with pleading eyes. She had never tasted klavaatu, for it was so rare and expensive- nor any of the other items besides alvas. Those she had found growing in the forest once and she had indulged in their sweetness. The smells from the platter reached her nose and she knew in that moment she would do anything for a scrap.

            “Well, indulge, my sweet. It will go bad if you don’t.”

            She looked at him with incredulous eyes and tentatively reached for a slice of the klavaatu, then gingerly bit into the succulent meat of the fruit, savoring the burst of flavor. She had never tasted anything so good and she quickly finished one slice and reached for a jumja stick as he watched her carefully. When she had finished the jumja stick, he set the platter aside on the night table and pulled her to him. She cast a forlorn look towards the tray which he laughed at.

            “Don’t worry, my pet, the tray will remain until you have gorged yourself to your delight, but first, I intend to satisfy myself with you.”

            Solita felt the greed of her hunger overpowering all else and she was quick to remove his boots and begin the ritual removing of his clothing. She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible so she could feed her indulgence. As she unfastened his belt buckle, her mind drifted back to Kira Nerys and guilt started to gnaw at the edge of her conscience once again. She knew that, despite the bountiful rewards she had earned for her efforts to prove her merit to the Glinn and the Cardassian Union, she had to help Kira Nerys and fix the wrongs she had done.

 

*********

 

            _Nerys ran through the long, sweet grass as quickly as her chubby little legs could carry her. She took care, as she dashed beneath the fruit trees, not to trip over the swollen, ripe clusters that had fallen to the ground. She ran fast and hard, her breath coming in staccato draws as she ducked between the wooden fence posts and continued on towards the breathtaking sight that had drawn her from the other side of the orchard._

_“Nerys, my love, come to me!”_

_Nerys giggled as she ran and found herself gathered into the sweet comfort that was her mother’s arms. She had been gone for so long that she had begun to forget what she looked like. Father had told her she was too young to know and that her mother was on an errand of importance for the Prefect, which was why they were allowed extra rations and looked after rather than persecuted. The sadness in her father’s eyes had told a different story but Nerys never dared to ask. But none of that mattered now because she was here. The scent of her mother’s favorite soap wrapped her in a comforting cocoon and the softness of her skin was the sweetest caress Nerys could ever remember._

_“Mother, I have missed you,”_

_“Nerys, my sweet daughter, my precious little girl. May the truth never find you. May you never know the realities of war. I have to go, my darling. May the Prophets bless you with a day in your life where you will no longer live in rags and go to bed hungry. May light shine on your path and luck walk with you as you live in the embrace of the Prophets.”_

_Kira Nerys fought as her mother dislodged herself from her arms and then disappeared into the forest. “Mother, please don’t leave us!” she cried as her chubby little legs tried to keep up. As she ran through the forest, her body instantaneously grew to her slight adult form and the storm clouds raced in to darken the forest. She felt the icy breath of the winds chill her like a cold hand wrapped around her heart. She found herself running for her life through the forest and, just as before, she met her doom when her feet wrapped in a branch and sent her sprawling on the ground. The chilly hands- the hiss of the hypospray-_

Kira bolted upright, gulping in huge breaths of air and gazing around at the small cell, wide eyed, and suddenly realizing what a caged animal felt like.

            The first thing was to take a personal assessment. She checked her limbs and her neck for mobility, and when she realized she maintained the freedom of movement, she began checking for cuts and abrasions. In the cells, they were schooled against injury since a visit to a medic almost always meant visiting a Cardassian. This posed two risks. The primary risk was of being turned over to the butchers for sick experiments and ultimately ended in death. The secondary risk was being turned over to the authorities for wounds of a suspicious nature.

            When she didn’t locate the sticky residue of partially dried blood, she moved on with the assessment to her memory. She challenged herself to remember simple bits of information, followed by that of a more complicated nature. When everything checked out, Kira turned to exploring her cell.

            Slate gray walls were met with an energy barrier across where the fourth wall would have existed. She didn’t have access to a control panel or communications and, from the looks of the naked cell, there wasn’t even a video monitoring device. The Cardassians were nothing if not efficient. It was only when the artificial gravity faltered a bit that Kira came to the full realization that she was on a ship. She wondered where she was being taken to and why. It was an oddity that she was alone and, apparently, had her own private transport. The Cardassians weren’t ones to waste space on transport vessels. Kira had heard tales of how her people were packed into the holding cells shoulder to shoulder. She decided on the assumption that she was on her way to Terok Nor. It was the only logical explanation. The pit of her stomach tightened as she realized exactly how grim her situation was. She hadn’t told anyone she was venturing out to do the weather report, let alone to try to rescue a child from the storm. For a moment, she wondered if they would look for her but then decided not. They had been confined to the caves since the detection grid had gone into place. They would assume that she ventured out and the detection grid had finally detected her and her luck had run out.

            The rock and jerk of the deck plates beneath her feet alerted her to the fact that they had reached their destination.

 

*********

 

            He knew it was her. She occupied his idle mind during regeneration periods. He stood watching with measured interest as they brought her through the security check, then escorted her towards the quarters she had been assigned. Strange that she would be brought on board the station in shackles and not immediately moved to the brig. He wondered if she were dangerous. She didn’t look very dangerous, but he had learned not to prejudge anyone.

            Curiosity gnawed at him until it bested him and he discreetly followed the entourage that escorted the young woman. Discretion wasn’t a necessity since his position allowed him wide latitude, but regardless, he didn’t want for his curiosity to be blatantly apparent. Curiosity was not something that was generally encouraged by the Cardassians.

            The larger of the two soldiers flanking the young woman gave her a hard shove through the door to her assigned quarters.

            “Disagreeable little thing. Can’t imagine what the Prefect would want with something as nasty as you,” he spat at her.

            She pinched her lips together and spit at him, the wad of saliva landing on his boot. “That is what I think of your Prefect,” she snarled.

            Then the big brute was on her. He tackled her and slammed her to the ground while his smaller comrade grabbed his shoulder and attempted to pull him back.

            “You fool! The Prefect ordered that she was to be delivered unharmed!”

            “Let her go,” Odo demanded as he made his presence known.

            “On whose authority?” demanded the large brute as he released the young red-head to face the voice that had addressed him.

            “Chief of Security of Terok Nor. I hardly think a young woman in shackles who is three times smaller than you warrants such abusive treatment.”

            “She offended me,” he protested.

            “And it has already been established that she is a guest of the Prefect. So unshackle her and I will confine her to quarters until he calls for her.” Odo was not about to let them bully him, despite the fact that they were much larger than his assumed stature. He watched as the big one begrudgingly unshackle her, then they turned and left him staring at her.

            She gazed at him, curiously, and waited for him to speak. She seemed to be calculating her chances at slipping past him and escaping but seemed to decide against the notion of flight.

            Odo had come to learn what happened to the women the Prefect kept to _comfort_ him and, though the point of sexuality was fascinating, he felt sorry for the women. They were taken from their families and from their home to live and serve an alien master and most never made it back, dying under situations that would otherwise be suspicious: strange ailments that were often cited as medical mysteries unworthy of pursuit. In fact, it was last night that An’thlyn Gwenil had been rushed to the infirmary and pronounced dead from an unknown ailment. She was the most recent of the Prefect’s mistresses to pay the ultimate price.

            Odo couldn’t look at the young, fearless Bajoran any more. “I’m sorry,” he simply said, then shut and secured the door. He knew he could have stood in the doorway and just gazed at her for hours- but something within made him feel uncomfortable. He felt connected to her in an odd way, but he had a duty to the Prefect, despite the fact that he was beginning to second guess the nature of the Cardassians’ dominance over the Bajorans and the reasons for the mutual despise. He shook the thoughts away as he hurried towards his office to alert the Prefect of the Bajoran girl’s arrival. It wasn’t his position to question the politics of the situation that surrounded them. His job was to enforce the letter of the law and he intended to do so to the best of his ability.

 

*********

 

            He didn’t feel a shred of guilt. It was part of being in power. Guilt was a viral infestation and he had seen it consume men from the inside out. He would never be one of those men who lay festering and rotting while the infection oozed and burned within. He was strength and experience and he would not ache or pine for Gwenil. He had another diversion and she was here, on his station. The sheer delight and excitement over that fact was enough to drive him to distraction. He tightened his hold on the excitability that, despite being so uncharacteristic, threatened to overwhelm him.

            “You summoned me, sir?” Basso Tromac, his Bajoran aide, questioned as he was permitted to enter.

            “I want you to prepare a lavish meal for my newest guest and serve it to her with a decanter of spring wine- with my apologies for being unable to join her this evening.”

            “As you wish, Prefect,” Basso replied, then turned to exit. Just what he needed, to be forced to serve another Kira female. If this one turned out to be as undesirable as the first, he knew he could always concoct a story like the one that took care of her mother.

            Skrain Dukat smiled as he pictured the young woman turning her nose up at the food when Basso delivered it. She would pace, angrily, until the sweet intoxication of the delicacies wafted into her beautifully sculptured nose and, finally, overpowered her. She would indulge and would provide him with the key to her undoing. He had learned that everyone and everything had a price and the true key was not in knowing what the specific price was but how to employ it to the advantage of the buyer until the deal was sealed. The Ferengi bartender had proved a most valuable little vole when it came to the acquisition of one’s desires.

            He felt his grin widen when he punched in the video feed for the guest quarters of Kira Nerys. He watched with rapt attention as Basso delivered the tray that was piled high with succulent fruits and confections that were out of reach of the general Bajoran population. She paid the tray no heed, but studied the opening and closing door. She wasn’t a fool and Dukat knew she would be a worthy adversary. In the end, he would be victorious in his desires. She walked to the door and studied it for a moment then paced like a caged animal, dreaming about escape.

            It amused him to see the exact moment when the odiferous aroma of the food caught her attention. She paused in her pacing long enough to let her head raise from the pointed stare at the floor to consider the tray.

            _Yes, my beautiful Nerys, that’s it. Indulge in a gift of good will. Take an offering from me and I will own you._

Instead, she stalked purposefully across the room and slapped the tray off of the table, sending the food and the decanter of spring wine sailing into a wall where it crashed hit then crashed to the ground.

            Furious, Dukat slammed his fist down on the console, cutting the video feed. How dare she reject his offering in such a manner? He inhaled and instantly composed himself, allowing himself to rise above the emotion that could be his undoing. He would not allow her bitter actions to bait him. Rewards came to those patient enough to pursue them, even against the toughest of adversaries. Resistance was in her blood and he should have known she wouldn’t be won easily. For the next approach, he decided on subtlety. She expected to be treated like a prisoner so, short of putting her in the brig, he would treat her as such. He would serve her bread and water for her meals. He could not see himself beating her or torturing her for information, but if she forced his hand… Eventually, she would come around and when she did, he would be waiting for her.

 

*********

 

            Solita hid in the shower stall with scalding water raining down on her flesh, leaving painful red splotches where ever it landed. She hated herself for what she had done to Kira Nerys. She hated the feel of his scaly flesh against hers, the feel of him invading the privilege and sanctity of her body, the smell of him that clung to her when he had finished, leaving his foul stickiness dripping down the insides of her thighs.

            She always hurt when he was through with her. Emotionally, she was mostly numb, but physically she ached for days. Since their new arrangement had begun, she longed for a swift death every time he told her to remove his belt. It was always the same:

            _“Solita, be a good girl and remove my belt…”_

And she would comply for fear of what he would do to her if she refused. She would remove his belt- which led to satisfying him with her mouth. When he tired of this, he would order her to lie on her back and expose herself for him. She would and he would look at her for a while as he used his palm to keep himself at the ready. He would test her with his fingers first, deciding which orifice he preferred to violate for the evening. Once decided, he would fill her with his weapon, inciting pain and involuntary resistance from the muscles of her body. As he took his pleasure from her, he also took her pagh, holding her face parallel to his, insisting she stare at him through the entire painful ordeal. As she crumpled like a wilting flower, he owned her and she felt as though he had raped her of her pagh.

            When it was over, she was forced to clean his offending weapon, leaving him ready for the next session. While she cleaned him, he would sip spring wine and tell her of his filthy dalliances with his other Bajoran girls, detailing how some of them were so much better than she because they did more than just lie beneath him. Sometimes, these stories that made her aware of her inadequacies also excited him and evoked a second more ruthless session. She especially hated those days.

            When she was certain her flesh was about to peel from her bones, having been seared by the scalding water, she turned the faucet off and stepped from the stall. She toweled off and caught sight of herself in the looking glass.

            What had happened to her? Dark, lifeless eyes stared out from between pointed cheek bones and her blonde hair hung like straw about her face. Once upon a time, she had been told that she was an exceptionally beautiful child. Now, she as just another starving face in the crowd, with a Cardassian monster for a master who liked to prey on girls who had scarcely reached their full maturity at the age of fourteen. The angry bruises on her body and the _love bites_ about her newly budded breasts churned an emotion deep inside that she had never felt before.

            Determination.

            She loathed the Glinn for having stolen her childhood and her virtue and making her into a collaborator. She hated the Cardassians for taking what belonged to her people. She hated the Prefect for loitering on his comfortable station and for having ordered the capture of Kira Nerys. As she stared at the face in the mirror, she promised she would do whatever was in her power to slight the Cardassians and escape to join the resistance. If not for the lost little girl inside of her who had once been an exceptional beauty or for Bajor, she would do it for Kira Nerys to atone for the wrong she had done her.

 

*********

 

            He didn’t like being slammed against walls, no matter what form he existed in. He knew, had she been aware that one of the fluted glasses had been him, she wouldn’t have done as such.

            Even angry, he found her compelling to look at. Curiosity found him here, lying among the remains of the carefully prepared platter. He wondered what was so special about this particular woman that the Prefect had gone to great lengths to capture her. The little Ferengi, named Quark, had been sure to fill him in about the Prefect’s obsession with this one resistance fighter. Despite Quarks dalliances with the black market, Odo had discovered that he knew a little bit about everything and was often an invaluable source of information.

            He turned his attention back to Kira, who had taken a seat in the corner of the room on the floor. When he was sure she wasn’t paying attention, he shifted into the form of a vole and scampered across the floor in her direction.

             “Is the furniture unacceptable?”

            Kira gasped and scanned the room quickly and caught sight of the vole on the floor. She shook her head in disbelief as she stared.

            “I apologize for my appearance, but I did not want anyone to see me enter your quarters,” Odo explained. Despite being the security chief, he still had to answer to Dukat.

            “You’re the shape shifter, aren’t you?” Kira asked, still suspicious. She didn’t put it past the Cardassians to start using voles for intelligence gathering. It seemed just their speed.

            “Yes, I am.”

            “Boy, what I wouldn’t give to have your abilities right now. I wouldn’t be sitting here waiting for the Prefect to tell him what I think of him.”

            “I don’t understand. He gave you a lavish meal. You are obviously important to him or he would have sent you to ore processing,” Odo commented.

            Kira crinkled her nose. “I have no intention of becoming one of those collaborators who trade their bodies for clothes and food. I’d rather die then let his icy hands touch me.”

            “Your death won’t help the resistance your people are so devoted to,” Odo pointed out.

            “No, but it will ensure that I don’t warm his cold bed either. Besides, there will be someone to step up and take my place.”

            Odo regarded her hard features. She looked so determined, yet gauntly hungry and rough around the edges, like all of her fellow kinsmen, but there was something pretty about her. The red hair captivated his attention, but the fire in her soulful brown eyes roused a feeling within him that he couldn’t describe. It wasn’t envy, but something more profound. Admiration, perhaps? Whatever it was, he did not want to see her disappear like the others the Prefect comforted himself with on a regular basis.

            “You could help me, you know,” she suggested.

            “Me? Hardly.”

            “You could. You are the chief of security. You could smuggle me off the station, and together we could go back to my resistance cell!”

            The suggestion was impossible. Gul Dukat had been very generous to him by employing him and making him the security chief. How could he repay him by betraying him and the Cardassians for this resistance fighter he found intriguing?

            “I can’t help you,” he told her.

            “But you’re not like them. You could help us to be free again,” she pleaded.

            Odo suddenly felt very uncomfortable and backed away. “It is not possible.” He shifted smaller then scampered through the duct work. He paused just past the access panel to stare at her again. She was so beautiful in a sad way. The fire was doused with a quick flash of tears and her hopeful expression fell away into something more of concern and mourning. He had to avoid her. Association with her would lead him to problems with the Cardassians and he couldn’t afford such a problem, no matter now compelling she was.

 

*********

 

            She hadn’t been able to stop staring at Shakaar Edon’s photo as Glinn Gartin Dernik briefed her. She was supposed to have been listening to her mission, but she blocked most of it out as she stared at the blond hair and the kind eyes. She was being sent to meet with a resistance sympathizer. The Cardassians had long about learned that the sympathizers did not talk under duress any more than the resistance members themselves. They had learned who this individual was through a collaborator and had decided to just sit on him, wait for his move. Solita did not intend to be the one to give up the location of the Shakaar cell, as were her orders. Once she obtained the location, she intended to make a break for it and never look back.

            “As soon as you enter Tamulna, you will locate an individual by the name of Hatrom Rehshen. You are to tell him you are looking for the Shakaar cell and that you have information for Shakaar’s ears only about the disappearance of Kira Nerys. As a gesture of good will, I want you to offer to bring food and supplies to the resistance. He will give you the location of the Shakaar cell and once he does, I want you to contact me with this.” He held up a communications device. It was about the size and shape of a button. “My unit will follow you discreetly and then we will strike once we know the location. And Solita, don’t try anything stupid. We will be monitoring your location at all times. It is a shame I couldn’t get my hands on one of the new listening devices used by the Obsidian Order. Regardless, this will serve my purposes. I would hate to have to waste such a beautiful body before I have had my fill of you.” He gave her a toothy grin like a predator hungry for its prey.

            Solita had her own agenda. She knew the general location of the Shakaar cell and intended to make a break for the caves once she was able to discard the little communications device.

            “Lie face down,” he ordered, gesturing to the bed.

            Solita did as she was told, surprised that he had not asked her to remove his belt first. It was certainly a turn of events for him to remove his own clothing before violating her. She felt him sit on her back, then he reached and secured her wrists to the head of the bed with the shackles he had installed there in the event of her less than cooperative moments. The white-hot pain of a laser scalpel was enough to make her scream out.

            “What are you doing?!” she screamed, forgetting herself.

            “Did you honestly believe I was going to just hand you the device so you could discard it and turncoat on me? My darling Solita, I am not a fool.”

            She felt his fingers painfully push the device into the incision, then the relief of the dermal regenerator. “I thought you trusted me,” she baited him. She knew she was on dangerous ground, but she didn’t care. He may as well kill her because it was the only way she was going to escape his clutches now.

            He roared with laughter at the suggestion. “I don’t trust any Bajoran, my sweet. You Bajoran women are only good for a few things and one of them is infiltrating the resistance cells. Other than that, you are only good to entertain me and even that use is growing tiring. Your body temperature is much too warm. What I wouldn’t give for sweet, chilly body of a Cardassian beauty.” He unsecured her arms and left her on the bed.

            Panic filled her. If he was nearing the end of his use for her, then perhaps he really would kill her! The sudden thought of being dead did not settle well with her. She did not want to be with the Prophets yet. She wanted time to redeem herself for being a collaborator! She had to convince him she could be of other uses.  

            “I could begin soaking in an ice bath before copulation, Glinn,” she offered.

            He sneered. “So, you don’t like the idea of my being through with you? Are you afraid, Solita?”

            “I don’t want to meet the Prophets yet. I am too young. Please, I want to remain with you, I want to learn to pleasure you.” The thought was disgusting and she loathed the idea of spending the remainder of her life with him, but if they raided the Shakaar cell, at least he would order her spared if she left on good terms.

            His sneer widened into a grin. “So, you finally have come around, my sweet. It’s a shame there isn’t time for us to indulge now. Come along,” he ordered and led her out of the room she had lived in for nearly five years. It had been five years since she had seen the sun or smelled a breath of fresh air.

            When he pushed the door to the compound open she had to shield her eyes to the brightness of the day. For some reason, she had expected to see a wasteland with tumbleweeds and scorched earth and dark, angry clouds. Instead, just beyond the compound, she could see rolling hills of green, the greenish blue sky and B’hava’el smiling brightly down upon them. The fragrant breeze tickled her nose and she inhaled deeply, enjoying the smells of the moist earth and the sweet grass.

            “Don’t forget, Solita, I will be monitoring your progress,” he reminded her, then closed the door behind her.

            Solita ran as fast as she could, stretching and working muscles that had been dormant for such a long time. She loved the feel of the breeze as it combed through her hair. She felt as though her life and energy had been renewed and restored. She felt like a neglected flower that had been kept from the light but suddenly thrust into it. She turned her face towards B’hava’el, soaking in the warmth of the sun, the purity of the light.

            The tenderness in her shoulder brought her back to reality and reminded her that she was being accompanied. She had to hurry and she also had to figure out how in the name of the Prophets she was going to get rid of the device in her shoulder so that she could escape icy clutches of Glinn Dernik.

           

*********

 

            _The chill of his hands sent a shiver along her spine as they ran the length of her arms—shoulder to elbow and back again._

_“So warm,” he whispered against her hair, his breath caressing her ear._

_It was dark, but she didn’t want to see him as he gently pushed her back onto the bed. She wanted to live in the sensations that were slowly strengthening within her. Arousal was a powerful drug and she wanted to succumb to its old on her._

_Cold, rough flesh covered her and realization flooded her mind. This was not Shakaar and the same dream she had been dreaming since joining his cell._

_Her eyes snapped open at the moment of penetration and her sight was filled with the Cardassian who had chased her through the forest. He was the monster who had been tormenting her in her dreams, only now he had caught her; was violating her._

_Nerys struggled beneath him and screamed as he indulged himself. He laughed at her attempts to push him away and continued to delight from the private invasion of her body._

_When he finished, he held her tight and gazed down at her. “Beautiful little Nerys, don’t you know there is no escape from me? I own you now just as I owned Kira Meru before you…”_

The gentle hand on her shoulder made her bolt upright and she suddenly realized it had all been a terrible nightmare. Her flesh still crawled from where the monster in her dreams had touched her. She gazed up and found herself staring at the shape shifter, Odo.

            “Are you all right?” he asked in a voice that reminded her of gravel.

            “It was just a nightmare,” she gasped, still trying to recapture a sense of composure.

            “I brought you your dietary allotment. Basso Tromac is otherwise occupied, so the Prefect requested I bring it,” Odo explained.

            “That is very kind of you, but I am not hungry,” she eyed the mapa bread and water decanter suspiciously.

            “Starving to death won’t help your cause,” Odo said as he slid the tray onto the table next to her. “You needn’t worry; I replicated it myself so I can ensure it is not poisoned.”

            Kira began to wonder if he was also a telepath. “So, I am no longer worthy of the Prefect’s lavish feasts?” she asked wryly, then picked up a slice of bread and took a bite. She assumed Dukat had heard about the waste of food from Basso Tromac when he had come to collect the empty tray and anger clouded his expression when he learned of her ungratefulness for the Prefect’s generosity. As she nibbled at the slice of bread, she poured herself a glass of water and pondered her companion who lingered. He was handsome, in his own unique way. She liked the sand color of his hair, the bronze of his perfectly smooth complexion. His soft blue eyes were so kind, so gentle and just staring into them made her feel safe.

            When she noticed him gazing intently back at her, she quickly turned her face away and pondered the bread and the water. Something about replicated bread lacked the full flavor of the real thing; the replicated water, though lacking the minerals of the natural springs of Bajor, it served to quench her thirst.

            “Odo, do you know Kira Meru?” she asked, suddenly. She almost didn’t comprehend that the question had slipped out of her mouth. She knew she was fishing but she had to know. She wanted to know the truth about what had happened to her mother.

            “I’m sorry, I have never heard of her,” Odo replied, noticing how her expression fell. He knew this Kira Meru must have been important to her and he wished he could help her, but it was time he was going. He still had the incessant feeling that association with her was a dangerous thing. “I have duties to attend to, but hopefully we will have time to speak again soon.” He slipped out the door quickly, leaving her to her solemn expression and the thoughts that had turned her mood.

            Odo kept the image of her in his mind, the soft, sad look of her fallen expression, the sparkle of her eyes as they spoke but then the sullen appearance they adopted after asking about Kira Meru. He felt attracted to this young woman, guilty that he couldn’t help her. She reminded him of the bird that one of the Cardassian scientists had kept under glass. At first, the bird hadn’t seemed to change at all other than being a little curious about its new, tiny universe, but as time went on, it grew more and more listless until it finally gave up the will to live altogether. It died, but not from any known cause. Odo felt worrisome over the imprisonment of Kira Nerys. He wondered if she, too, like the bird, would die from a broken spirit at being imprisoned in a box. The very thought of such a thing happening to her was, to say the least, disturbing. Deep down, he knew he could not allow such a thing.  

 

*********

 

            The time had come. It had been three days since Kira Nerys had been brought to his station and it was time he paid a call on his latest diversion. He had been watching her on and off, with amusement, and enjoying her attempts to find an escape from her quarters. He was aware that his chief of security seemed quite intrigued by the young woman, but paid him no mind. So far, it was innocent banter. It pleased him to see that Odo did not intend to defy him by helping her escape, though she had asked. The shape shifters loyalties weren’t going to be another thing taxing his time or his patience.

            Dukat carried the tray containing the mapa bread and water decanter himself as he walked the length of the corridor. As he came to her door, a certain apprehension came over him. He had waited years for this moment and he was suddenly feeling like a juvenile with his first conquest. He paused at her door for a few calming, refocusing breaths. He had to gain control of himself if he were going to be in control of the situation. He could not allow her to gain the upper hand nor sense any weakness.

            He didn’t bother ringing the bell or alerting her to his presence as Odo was so kind to do. He preferred to catch her off guard. He punched in the override code and when the doors swished open, he stepped into her quarters. He was disappointed, at first, when she was no where to be seen, but disappointment turned to curiosity when he heard the waters of the shower. Had she decided to accept his gift of fresh clothing?

            The day before, he’d instructed Odo to deliver a garment with her dietary allotment. Nothing lavish or exquisite, as he had hopped to dress her in, just something functional. He had replicated a very simple, feminine outfit of leggings and a shirt in dark gray and black.  He didn’t want to start showering her with affection and beautiful things. She was a resistance fighter and she wouldn’t respond to such so long as her starving comrades were still in the forefront of her mind. He had to woo her and prove to her that a liaison with him could have merits. He was even prepared to offer a pardon to her resistance cell to prove to her that he was not as evil as she was taught to believe.

            He set the tray on the table then leaned against the doorway into the bedroom. He could see through the door to the bathroom across the bedroom and wondered if she would privilege him with a glimpse of her fresh from the shower. He could see the reflection of the closed shower doors in the mirror and just as he thought about venturing closer, he heard her turn off the shower. He watched intently until she opened the shower door and he caught the briefest flash of her rose-hued flesh before she wrapped a towel around herself. Dukat wanted to curse the designer of the station for putting the towel rack within reach of the shower, but forgot his rant as she entered the bedroom opposite of him and let out a screech of surprise.

            He took advantage of her frozen shock to absorb her. The white towel covered from just above the swell of her breasts to her upper thighs. Her auburn hair looked longer and darker when it was wet and water drops glistened on her rose-colored skin like the Koladan diamonds he wanted to drape her in.

            “Is privacy the next privilege I am going to be denied?” she spat as she came to her senses.

            “Do you have secrets that you intend to keep from me, Kira Nerys? Secrets that demand privacy?” he asked, not budging from his leaned position against the door jam.

            “We all have secrets, Prefect,” she replied, then dropped the towel to her feet, as though challenging him and his control.

            Dukat couldn’t help but admire her courage in his presence as well as her body. She was a beautiful, if not bold creature. There weren’t many of his Cardassian comrades who wouldn’t have stopped themselves from raping her. He was not like his soldiers. He liked to maintain an air of indifference while he waited for the right moment to strike. He didn’t mind using a woman for his own selfish desires, but he would not force a woman to do anything she didn’t want to. By the time he was through with them, they submitted to his every desire not only because he desired it, but so did they. It was preferential to hard labor in the ore refinery or endlessly dull days locked in the brig. The willing couldn’t be raped, no matter how he managed to secure their cooperation. And, just as he didn’t force Kira Meru, he would not force Nerys. She would eventually cave to him, just as the others had.

            “You know who I am?” He had not formally introduced himself.

            Nerys shrugged as she pulled on her under garments, her gaze never wavered from him. “Gul Dukat has been careful to keep me under lock and key and my only visitors have been Basso and Odo for the sole purpose of delivering my dietary allotment for the day. If you were not the Prefect, I would have expected security to already have arrived to protect his interests in me.”

            He was impressed by her logical deductions and considered the notion of toying with her for a little longer, to keep her guessing, but he didn’t have to.

            “So, what do I owe for a visit from the Prefect of Bajor?” she questioned, smugly, as she finished dressing and boldly brushed past him to enter the sitting room. “Have you been demoted?” she asked as she caught sight of the tray. “I would have thought delivering food to prisoners beneath you.”

            He clenched his jaw, not wanting to retaliate nor let her know that she had managed to rile him. Contemptuous little rat. She had dug her claws beneath his skin at his kindness and practically spat in his face. He wanted to break her and she was stirring him. Then, before he could stop himself, he was on her, trapping her against the wall, his hand finding her jaw, but she didn’t show him the fear he knew she must have felt. The feel of her form, molded between him and the bulkhead was nearly enough to distract him.

            “Such fire, such rage, you must get that from your father, Nerys, because your mother was so very pliable.” He almost smirked as her eyes went wide with shock and her lips parted, speechless to comment. “But we don’t have to be enemies, Nerys. Your life could be much nicer, much easier if you just gave me a chance.”

            “Never will I willingly spread my legs for you or any other Cardassian. I’d rather die than become a collaborator,” she hissed back.

            He released her jaw and let his fingers play down the bone to her throat, letting his eyes drift over her face, loosing himself for a moment in the endless, dark pools that were her eyes. “We shall see, Nerys,” he replied then quickly stepped away from her, knowing he couldn’t trust himself as he had her pressed into the wall, not wanting to let his desires best him. “I think you would be a little more inclined to take advantage of your position. I have been known afford a lot of freedom to my Bajoran paramour.”

            She wasn’t so bold as to turn her back to him, but she did turn her nose up at the idea. She crossed her arms over her chest and clenched her jaw. She wasn’t about to crumble, she hadn’t had enough time to wilt in her confinement.

            “I could even be inclined to offer pardons to the condemned, perhaps those involved in resistance cells,” he baited. He had meant to keep that tactic reserved for later should she not crumble to his will, but he couldn’t hold it back. He was concerned about the lack of self-control he seemed to feel around her and knew he would have to redouble his efforts to maintain the upper hand.

            Her ears almost visibly perked at the mention of resistance cells. “Tell me,” she demanded, suddenly quite concerned.

            Dukat grinned within. He had her attention. Now, it was time to let her squirm a little while she considered her options. Naturally, she had no way to check the information he gave her and, in reality, it was only a matter of time before the cells were captured, killed, or gave up. The detection grid had been an ingenious invention to minimize the resistance raids.

            “The cell hiding just outside the city, the Shakaar cell, is it? They won’t be causing us any more difficulty.” He allowed himself a sinister laugh as he regarded her for a moment longer.

            “What have you done to them?!” she demanded, suddenly very worried.

            “I suppose what _will_ I do to them is the proper question. I certainly won’t be feeding them and holding them in cells, sapping precious resources that could go to feed my soldiers. It is a good thing you were rescued from such a fate, Nerys. Enjoy your meal.”

            With a dark, evil grin, Dukat slipped from her quarters before she could question him further. He intended to let her consider the information he had fed her, the lies. She didn’t have any means by which to check his information and he knew she was rattled, concerned with the fate of her comrades. He just had to wait for her to bend to his whims and he knew she would bend. She would walk right into his arms, just as he intended. He inhaled deeply as he walked to the turbolift. It was certainly a wonderful day on Terok Nor.  

 

*********

 

            She inhaled sharply, then exhaled very slowly, trying to slow her pulse. Adrenaline was thrumming through her body and she felt as though she had been given a very strong stimulant. She refused to show him how fearful she secretly was. The power he embodied and his strength had been overwhelming.

            Though she would never admit it to anyone, a tiny part of her wondered at the posh life she would be afforded as the Prefect’s obedient concubine. Mostly, it was the desire to know what it was to sleep in a comfortable bed with a full stomach. She might even have been inclined to sell herself for the betterment of her people. If she could truly do some good for her people, she may have leapt at the chance, but she was too smart for that. If her becoming Dukat’s mistress didn’t mean the complete withdraw of Cardassia from Bajor, she wasn’t going to bite. She was reasonably certain he would never pay such a high price for her. There were several other, much prettier girls who would curry higher favors from him simply due to their radiance.

            But, what of Shakaar and the others? What if Dukat had been telling the truth and they’d been captured? She could possibly save their lives by putting herself on the table? Could she really let them die for the sake of her virtue? And, would they be glad to have lived at the price she would have to pay?

            What if she refused Dukat and the Shakaar cell was executed? How did that help her people? There were fewer and fewer resistance fighters all the time, due to the damned detection grid. If she agreed to Dukat’s terms, she could save them from certain death. Then again, Dukat was a Cardassian. Once he had what he wanted, he could just execute them anyway. She couldn't exactly trust him at his word.

            Kira rested her face against her hands and tried to find calmness in the midst of the storm of questions and emotions. She was used to all of her options carrying possible negative results and consequences, but this was too much. The Shakaar cell- captured. It didn’t seem real and she was reluctant to believe it, though it wasn’t impossible. They may have even gotten caught while searching for her. She highly doubted it, but she liked to think that she wasn’t expendable. She liked to believe that she meant more to Shakaar than just another fighter who passed through his cell. She pictured him and she felt that familiar warmth spread through her. A tingle began in her lower abdomen and spread to encompass her entire being.

            Distracted from the situation at hand by her fantasy, Kira let herself lay back on her bed, forgetting where she was for the time being.

            _Shakaar Edon stood before her, the golden glow of his skin in the torch-light reminded her of B’hava’el at dusk. He covered her with his body, his blonde hair brushing against her cheek like strands of silk as he kissed her. His rough hands explored the most intimate, feminine secrets of her body and she let her eyes flutter closed, drowning in the sensations he was evoking from her._

_Kira arched towards him, feeling him fill her full. Smooth, enflamed skin turned scaly and cold under her hands, chilling her body as he embraced her. As she realized something was wrong, her eyes snapped open and her stomach churned violently at the sight above her. Shakaar disappeared and was replaced by Dukat, his face awash with pleasure and raw desire._

Kira screamed as she bolted upright from the bed, ripped from the fantasy turned nightmare. The gentle images of Shakaar returned and Kira knew, despite the nauseating idea of serving herself to Dukat, she couldn’t let Shakaar and the others die if it were within her power. Live today and fight another. She would protect them with her virtue, her life and whatever else Dukat decided to rape her of.

 

*********

 

            There was so much blood. She could feel it oozing down her back, over her hands and the sharp stone as she gouged it into the incision she’d made. It was hard reaching around the back of her head to slice into her own shoulder with the jagged piece of ancient volcanic glass. She dug it into her skin, careful not to impact the device. If she damaged or destroyed it, he would know and send a regiment to bring her back. The punishment would be painful and worse than eternity in the Fire Caves.

            Solita set the rock down and fished around in the crude incision to feel for the device. She could feel it, the slippery little disc was just beneath her fingers. She pinched it between her thumb and forefinger, then plucked it out of the gushing wound.

            She was free! She was truly free! She tossed the rock into the woods and stood, dizziness assaulting her, causing her to stumble. She couldn’t go to the town; she had to go straight to the caves where Kira came from. She had seen Kira poke her head out just above one of the ridges before she lured her into the forest.

            Solita shook her head clear and, on unsteady legs, headed towards the caves. She had to keep going. She had made a promise to Kira. She had to absolve herself of her guilt for helping the prefect capture her.

            As she walked, she felt a sick, queasy feeling invade her stomach and her vision began to blacken at the edges. She looked behind her and noticed she was leaving a trail of blood droplets. She had to stop the bleeding. She couldn’t lead them right to the cell. Quickly, she ripped a piece of her skirt and pressed the wad of fabric into the self-inflicted wound.

            When she came upon the brook that ran through the forest, she knew how she could dispose of the chip and let them believe she was making her way towards the city. She wedged it into a split in a piece of wood and set it adrift on the river towards the town. Her noose discarded, she continued towards her destination, watching through blurred vision as the mountains rose in the distance.

            It seemed like forever, but she finally reached the hidden caves. The world was spinning about her and she stumbled just inside the mouth of the cave.

            “Please, help me,” she cried out in her last moment of consciousness as she collapsed on the cool floor of the cave.

 

            Reanla Kaelinn, with her nearly waist-length dark auburn hair and expressive brown eyes, could have passed easily for Kira Nerys and vice versa.  In truth, the girls were only four months apart in age, Reanla the elder.  The only real physical difference between them was Reanla's height.  Kira had inherited Meru's petite stature, whereas the father that Reanla could barely remember had been as tall as Shakaar's six feet, five inches.  Emotionally, the girls considered themselves pagh-sisters, having formed a close bond after the liberation of Gallitep.  Reanla had been one of the hundreds of prisoners rescued from the notorious death camp, finding a new home and family with the Shakaar.  She was a little quieter than Kira, but no less fiery when her anger was aroused.

            Since it was her turn to stand watch at the mouth of the cave, she was the first to hear the pitiful cry and then see the delicate blond girl collapse in a heap face-first.  Instinct told her to run out and see to the girl, but a deeper instinct told her to be wary.  The girl could be a decoy in order to locate and capture the Shakaar.  It wouldn't be the first time--or the last, she thought grimly as she crept toward the body, phaser at the ready.  A long, careful look around revealed no one hiding that she could see.  Her final thought as she reached the girl's side and felt for a pulse was that she hoped the girl wasn't carrying or implanted with some kind of homing beacon.  And then Reanla saw the blood-soaked scrap of cloth on her shoulder. Even as part of her warred with indecision, the other part told her to get the girl out of the open.  Keeping an eye on the outside, she used her free hand to lift the girl half over her shoulder and then back up, not turning around until she was around the first two bends and therefore completely out of sight from the entrance.  It was then that her quick scuttle broke into a full-fledged run, heading quickly for the communal areas.  She had to find Lupaza and fast--before the girl bled to death.      Making the final turn in the passage where the caves opened up, she slammed into Shakaar and nearly lost her footing and her hold on the unconscious girl.  As it was, she lost her grip on her phaser, not even realizing until then that she'd still been holding it.

            "Kaelinn!"  Shakaar automatically reached out to steady her, only to recoil in surprise at the sight of Reanla's burden.  "Where--"

            "At the mouth of the caves."  Reanla had to catch her breath and therefore couldn't say anymore as Shakaar reached out again, this time to take the girl's limp form into a cradle hold, hollering for Lupaza over his shoulder as he did so.

            Solita became aware that she was not moving of her own volition. She fought to surface into the conscious world, only for a moment. She had to know if she reached her objective or if she was being carried off to her death at the hands of the Glinn.

            As her eyes fluttered open, she first became aware of the gentle strength of the arms that carried her towards a destination unknown. He was blonde and she knew him. She was certain she had seen him before, but her fogged brain couldn’t seem to recall from where. Then she became aware of his companion and she gasped in shock.

            “Shakaar, she’s awake.”

            Solita stared hard at her, then her heart did a small leap in her chest. As the dark waters threatened to close over her head once again, she desperately reached for the auburn haired woman. “Thank the Prophets, you escaped and are safe,” she said, meekly, then succumbed to the darkness.

            Reanla stared at the girl curiously. Her eyes had flickered with recognition despite the fact that Reanla was certain she had never met her before. One thing was for certain, she would certainly have an interesting story to tell once she awoke.

 

*********

 

            Cardassians had their moments. One of those moments being when they were depositing latinum into his pockets, the other moment being when they were destroying his glasses, tables, and whatever else got in their way when they were in the midst of a bar brawl. The latter, more unprofitable, moments were those he despised.

            He had to give Odo credit though. For being the only known member of his species, he certainly did a good job at keeping the brutes in line or quelling the occasional heated temper. Quark watched, disdainfully, from behind the bar as the security chief escorted two of the big lugs out.

            “Rom!” he bellowed. “Get out here and clean up this mess!” He wouldn’t win the patronage of visitors to the station with glass and drinks spilled all over the floor and tables upended. He pointed to the mess for his idiot brother and watched as he set about making the bar spotless.

            Quark watched as the Prefect stormed past, then stopped abruptly. He paused for a moment and Quark hoped he would continue on his way. He didn’t care for Dukat and hated schmoozing him. He also hated giving him his drinks for free, but knew his livelihood depended on it.

            “Trouble with your profits?” Dukat asked, smugly, as he stepped over the remains of a shattered glass, making Quark’s day go from just mildly upsetting to bad.

            “Just a little misunderstanding over a dabo game. Nothing to concern yourself with, Prefect. Odo handled it effectively,” Quark assured him. The last thing he wanted to do was attract the scrutiny of the station master.

            “I made a good choice in him, didn’t I, Quark? So very… thorough,” Dukat commented thoughtfully.

            _Sometimes too thorough,_ Quark thought. Rather than share that with Dukat he offered him a toothy grin. “All of your choices are good ones, Prefect.” A concerned look clouded Dukat’s face for just a moment, though it was not brief enough that Quark didn’t notice. “I can’t imagine you don’t believe such.”

            Dukat clenched his teeth at having been caught in a moment of uncertainty. “Quark, you have the ability to get your hands on rare delicacies, isn’t that right?”

            “Why, Prefect, I have a vast chain of traders who patron my humble establishment. What is it that I can help you to obtain?” Quark turned on his charm, despite being certain he was walking into a trap of some sort.

            “I would really like to obtain a rare bottle of spring wine, vintage 2344, and some fresh Klavaatu. Do you think you can manage that?”

            So, Dukat was trying to woo the young resistance fighter he had captured. Quark was no fool. He kept his lobes to the wall and had learned about the auburn-haired spitfire. Rumor had it, she had the disposition of a viper and that Dukat hadn’t been able to curry favor with her.      

            “Well Klavaatu is rare at this time of year, so I would have to require a forty percent up-charge and as for the vintage you mentioned, I think I could find it for, shall we say, thirty-five percent?”

            “Forty percent, thirty-five percent? I suppose that is acceptable. By the way, Quark, I wanted to discuss an idea that came to mind the other day. I was thinking of imposing a tax on all imports and exports to the station,” Dukat commented.

            Quark was fuming. He knew it was Dukat’s way of letting him know that charging a profit on obtaining goods for him would not be permissible. Imposing a tax would cut into his own profits significantly, as well as hurt his agreements with several traders because it would force him to up his handler fee. Import and export would suffer on the station were he to do something that outrageous! He was going to have to obtain the Prefect’s order for no profit whatsoever. He was beginning to wonder if he was running a charity rather than a business.

            “No, Prefect, I think I can manage to obtain your merchandise at cost. No need to get hasty and tax all imports and exports,” Quark insisted as he took a pad and began to tally his losses for the day. His mood soured even more when he saw Odo headed his way with the shape-shifter equivalent of a scowl on his face. He wondered exactly what the men had told him after Odo had them in the brig. No doubt, he was on his way to inspect his dabo tables and possibly his books for the day.

            “You have been most helpful, Quark,” Dukat grinned. “I expect you to call me the moment my order has arrived.” He slid from the seat and made his way to the door.

            Quark scowled. Dukat didn’t even buy a drink to compensate him for taking up a seat at his bar that a paying customer could have occupied. His day had just gone from bad to worse.

 

*********

 

            _His cold breath froze her neck and her pagh. Even in her nightmares she wasn’t free of his long arm. He could still reach her, still haunted her. She could retreat into her mind, but he went with her._

_“Solita, I am coming for you,” he hissed, “and I am not happy with you, my sweet.”_

_She had defied him. She had managed to slip through his fingers and she knew he was going to make her pay for her deception. He reached out and gripped her shoulder tightly…_

            Solita gasped as she sat straight up, her breath coming in labored gasps as she tried to gather her wits about her. Her panic slowly began to subside as the statuesque red-head came into focus before her. 

            It had been a good forty-five minutes since Reanla had hauled the unconscious girl from the mouth of the caves.  In that time, Lupaza had tended to the nasty wound on her shoulder, as well as a few superficial cuts and scratches on her legs most likely gained during her journey.  Reanla had repeated her story to Shakaar, and from there, word had spread through the rest of the cell members.  After that, all they could do was wait for her to wake up and tell them where she came from and why she was seeking them out.  No one believed it was mere coincidence that she'd come to them.

            As the wide blue eyes focused on her face, Reanla gave her a reassuring smile.  Her eyes widened further and darted at the other faces around her--from Furel to Lupaza, Mobara, Shakaar and finally back to Reanla, and tears welled up.

            "Now, don't cry, shai'tal," Mobara soothed in his smooth baritone voice.  "We will keep you safe here."

            "And we'll hunt down whoever did this to you," Furel added darkly.

            “No, no, you don’t understand, he is too powerful. I narrowly escaped and if I hadn’t dug the transmitter out of my shoulder he would be here now. Please, please, Kira Nerys…” She reached out for the auburn haired woman as she stopped babbling to catch her breath, and took in the confused looks around her.

            Furel, Lupaza and Mobara were busy exchanging baffled looks, but Reanla and Shakaar both leaned forward at the mention of Kira.  "You have news of Nerys??" the leader demanded.

            Vilena Solita returned their confused looks as she stared at the auburn woman where she crouched next to the blond-haired man. “She’s Kira Nerys,” she said slowly, confused.

            "No, I'm not Nerys.  My name is Reanla Kaelinn."  At the younger girl's upset expression, Reanla managed a rueful smile.  "I know I look very much like Nerys and she me, even though we're not related as far as we know."

            "Nerys has been missing for some time, leh'le," Shakaar added, his blue eyes serious.  "Have you seen her?  Heard of her whereabouts?"

            She was crushed; her heart broke as she realized that Kira was not safe and sound and back with the cell. She was still in the grasp of the Prefect- if she was even still alive- and it was all her fault. The tears fell from her sad, blue eyes and she was suddenly afraid to tell these people of how she had wronged Kira Nerys.

            “She is in the grasp of the Prefect,” she told them, hoping they didn’t press for more.

            The girl's shaky words brought a storm of outrage from the gathered Shakaar in the form of moans of horror and shock, and demanding questions.  The sudden noise caused the girl to burst into noisy sobs and Shakaar bellowed for everyone to shut up.  After a few minutes, the din died down, but the tension level had gone up at least twenty degrees.  Everyone was on edge as their leader took the child's delicate hand in his own and quietly asked her how this had happened.

            “I… I helped them capture her,” she stuttered between her sobs, “I lured her to the woods and they took her away to the prefect. I’m sorry.” She hid her face in her hands and her shoulders slumped, heavy with the burden of what she had done.

            Dead silence reigned for exactly thirty seconds before the storm of outrage returned, but mostly on a whispered level.

            "Nerys is trapped on Terok Nor--"

            "She's with Dukat!  Prophets, we'll never get her out of there--"

            "Poor child--who knows how long they've been abusing her?"

            "Don't say 'poor child' until we hear the rest, Lupaza--"

            "Oh come on, Mobara--she doesn't even look ten!"

            Shakaar had quickly withdrawn his hand when the girl had made her confession.  He was staring at her as if he didn't know whether to sympathize with what she'd been through--or kill her.  Lupaza was of the firm mind that the girl had been taken and twisted at such a young age that only now was she realizing the gravity of her actions--not knowing how close to the truth she was.  Furel sat, stone silent but furious.  Mobara was glaring at Lupaza for contradicting his opinion.

            Reanla's face had drained of blood at hearing the girl's words.  Nerys--her friend, her support, her pagh-sister, was now in the clutches of Gul Dukat...because of this girl's betrayal  It was all her mind could compute for the moment.

            Betrayal.  It was what had cost her her friends in the Thomar.  Pelkan had turned the entire cell into one of the local squadrons and only she and Kiplin had escaped out of sheer luck.  But they had watched from their hiding place--watched as everyone had been shot down, one by one, except for Thomar Dahaun, Kiplin's elder brother and their leader.  They had saved him for last and slit his throat, letting him bleed out slowly.  It had started a chain of events that had led her to here.  Fearing the idea that joining another cell would spell their doom, she and Kiplin had gone on the run on their own.  It had lasted six months before they were caught.  And then Kiplin had died in the same manner as his brother--while she was shipped off to Gallitep.

            She wasn't even aware of reaching for her phaser, or of drawing it out.  Only when the distinct click and whir of it being powered up cut through the whispers did anyone notice what she was doing.

            "Reanla!  What the hell--" Furel demanded.

            "--am I doing?  What does it look like I'm doing??"  Reanla's dark eyes narrowed on Solita's terrified blue ones as she centered the phaser’s target on the girl's heart.  "This....bitch has sent Nerys to her death.  I think it's fair that I send her to hers!"

            "Please..."

            "Don't bother begging me for forgiveness," Reanla hissed.  "Save it for the Prophets."

            Solita cowered in fear from Reanla. “You don’t know what it was like! Sending me to the prophets would be a release from the hell I have lived,” she sobbed harder.

            “KAELINN,” Shakaar’s voice thundered through the cavern as he turned from Lupaza and saw the raised phaser in her hand. “Put it down,” he ordered.

            Reanla didn't move an inch, still glaring at the crying girl.  "She's a collaborator, Shakaar.  She sent Nerys to Dukat!"  But her hands were starting to tremble very slightly, her inner sense telling her that doing this would be wrong.

            “And she is just a child, Kaelinn. If you kill her we will never know what happened and how Nerys ended up with Dukat. She is a Bajoran and simply by coming here, she has proven a desire for redemption,” Shakaar stated, not liking the fact that they had a collaborator in their midst, but wanting to trust that her intentions were good, all the same.

            Reanla didn't speak for a long minute, continuing to stare at the tearful, cowering Solita with rage.  She wanted to argue, to scream at Shakaar that she was just like Pelkan, like the countless other collaborators who had sent people to their death and now her best friend was about to become another of that untold number--another trophy of the notorious Prefect of Terok Nor.  But her conscience nagged at her--would killing her solve anything?  If they let her live long enough to explain herself, maybe they could get Nerys out alive.

            Despite the anger that still clawed at her, Reanla slowly lowered the phaser.  Once it was pointed at the floor instead of Solita, she felt someone wrench it from her grip.  Strong hands--Shakaar's, she could tell--took her by the shoulders, forcing her to her feet and to step back.  No doubt she was in deep trouble now.  But part of her didn't care.

            “Leh'le, please tell us what happened to you and what has become of Nerys,” Shakaar invited her out from her cowering position, knowing the kindness in his words would not be challenged.

            Solita relaxed a little, but the tears didn’t subside. She couldn’t keep her eyes from darting nervously around the room. She had walked into this cell having expected to be welcomed with open arms by the refugees and they had nearly killed her. She couldn’t afford not to be on her guard for the moment.

            “M… my name is Vilena Solita and for the past five years of my life, I have lived under the thumb of Glinn Gartin Dernik. He abducts Bajoran girls from their families at a very young age and trains them to infiltrate the resistance cells.” She paused as she noticed the members of the cells tense at the suggestion. “My thirteenth year just came and our arrangement changed. He began raping and abusing me regularly as a form of punishment and control.”

             Solita swallowed hard then inhaled deeply, willing the strength to tell them the rest of the story. “The other day, he informed me I was to prove my worth to him. He said he was certain Kira Nerys had been spotted in foothills of the mountains and sent me out to the edge of the woods. I saw her peeking over a ridge and I know she called to me, trying to warn me against the woods, but I went in anyway and she followed, right into his trap. The Prefect wanted her and he promised to reward the Glinn handsomely for his assistance in her capture. Guilt was gnawing away at me the whole time Prefect Dukat was congratulating the Glinn on his capture. I was sick to my stomach. Then he told me, because of the wonderful job I did capturing Kira, he was sending me to infiltrate the cell. He implanted a device in my shoulder to allow him to monitor me. I knew I couldn’t let him find you. I had made a private vow to right the wrong I had done Kira by finding you and letting you know what had happened. I dug the device out of my shoulder as soon as I was far enough away from his base and sent it adrift down the forest stream. Please, I want to help fix what I did. I want to help Kira escape,” she sobbed, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.

            The resentful anger had faded to indignant anger on the faces of most. It wasn't the first time any of them heard this sort of tale, but to actually hear it straight from this fragile girl--it was both sickening and fury-inducing. Reanla sat, frozen at the horrific words, and feeling sick inside at what she'd nearly done.  She'd blamed the girl out of turn without considering that she might have been manipulated.  Shame welled up and she looked away just as Lupaza reached out to give Solita a comforting hug.                   

            It felt good to be held in comforting arms. She was taken back to a time she could hardly remember. She could see a small, blonde-haired little girl wrapped against the breast of her loving mother. Solita closed her eyes and tried to remember what it was like to feel safe, warm and loved. As she heard the discussion around her, she tried to block it out, losing herself in memories of the last day she ever felt a kind touch…                                       

 _S_ _olita gazed up at the sky and pondered B’hava’el’s brilliance, pondering the wonder of it. Her mother had told her that the sun was a burning ball of fire and gases, but she liked to think of it as a giant candle like those that burned in the temples. In her seven-year-old mind, she would see the grand pillar with wax dripping down the sides that was tempting to the touch. She would never do that again. Her fingers had hurt for several days after her last incident involving candles and wax._ _“Leh’le, come to me,” Vilena Mieshel called to her daughter._

_Solita smiled as she ran towards her mother. She loved to look at her and play with her hair. It was long, shiny and as black as a night without stars._

_Mieshel’s gray eyes sparkled at the sight of her daughter as she lay a hand to rest on the three-month swell of her belly. She hoped her second child was as beautiful and wonderful as her first, lest she be partial. Her smile fell a bit because thoughts of her pregnancy always called to mind memories of her husband. Eraden was away with the resistance fighters and she was afraid he would not be home in time to welcome their second child._

_Drawn from her musing, she swept Solita into her arms and hugged her. “Have you been busy playing, shai’tal?”_

_“_ _Oh yes, I was pretending I was a resistance fighter and we were fighting the Cardassian monsters!” she told her mother, excitedly as she slashed a stick wildly in the air like a sword._

_“Hush, child, saying such things would get us into trouble. Where did you learn such a game?”_

_Solita felt hurt that her mother did not approve of her game when she approved of her father’s efforts with the Resistance. “Biljen taught it to me. He is going to join the Resistance when he is old enough.” Retika Biljen was the only child close by who was anywhere near her age. He was ten years old and his only aspiration in life was to fight Cardassians._

_“Biljen is much to old for you to be playing with, leh’le. I want you to find new friends.”_

_“Mother, there aren’t any other children my age nearby,” she protested. And secretly, she dreamed she would grow up and marry Biljen. Being forbidden from playing with him would certainly derail those dreams._

_“Well, you will be plenty busy enough once the baby comes. I will need your help with your father being away,” Mieshel smiled brightly. “You are growing up and becoming a young lady, Solita. I will need you to take on more responsibility.”_

_Solita bit her lip, not wanting to show her mother any disrespect. She did not like the idea that her carefree childhood in the forest with Biljen was about to be cut short. She was just about to offer her agreement and approval when the Cardassian soldiers came into sight and started heading towards their home. She felt the agitation in her mother’s touch as she pushed her towards their little hut._

_“Solita, go inside. I want you to hide yourself. Do not come out, no matter what you hear, do you understand?”_

_“But, mother…”_

_“Now, Solita!”_

_Solita felt hurt at her mother’s harsh tone, but did as she was told. She had never been spoken to in such a manner and she felt angry as she hurried into the house and slid under the bed, pulling the spare blankets around her so no one could peek under and see her._

_As she hid on the floor, she could hear the loud voices just beyond the door, her mother’s frightened and pleading. She was afraid, too. She knew that Cardassians visiting could only mean trouble. The voices grew louder and, all of a sudden the door banged open, and Mieshel’s terrified screams filled the little abode. Solita covered her ears with her hands as she peeked out from behind the blankets and saw her mother forced to the floor beneath the Cardassian brutes. Tears filled Solita’s eyes as she watched the two men hold her crying mother down and have their way with her as she fought for all she was worth._

_“Filthy Bajoran whore, take what you deserve,” the larger one spat._

_“Stop, please, in the name of the Prophets, stop! I’m pregnant you, brute!” Mieshel screamed, swinging her balled up fists at them as if her condition mattered to them._

_“Another brat from the loins of a member of the Resistance. Your husband is never coming home, wench. I executed him for crimes against the Union,” the smaller one stated, an evil sneer on his face as he held Mieshel down for his larger comrade._

_“_ _No, Prophets no!” Mieshel bellowed as they tormented her, raping her of everything she had left. Her head rolled to the side, tears stained her face as she caught sight of Solita, watching the horrors from beneath the bed. She closed her eyes, ashamed before the terror-stricken eyes of her daughter._

_Solita turned away from her mother, embarrassed at having to witness such despicable things. She buried her face in the blankets and covered her ears to shut out her mother’s sobs, powerless to do anything to help her. Sickness overwhelmed her and she turned her head from the blankets to vomit._

_When the crying finally stopped, she summoned all of her courage and peeked out beneath the bed, seeing her mother lying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood as the Cardassians kicked at her viciously._

_“One less Bajoran baby-maker is exactly what this world needs,” the larger said then pulled out a phaser and shot Mieshel. Then, they laughed as they left the little hut as though nothing had happened._

_Solita waited until the sound of them disappeared before crawling out from beneath the bed. She went to her mother, tears staining her face, as she lifted Mieshel’s head into her lap. “Mother,” she cried, gently shaking her shoulder, “mother, please don’t leave me alone.” She laid her hand over her mouth, feeling for breath, but not even a whisper passed Mieshel’s lips and Solita knew she needed to find help. She needed an adult who might be able to help her mother._

_She poked her head out the door of the cabin and looked around. Seeing no one about, Solita ran from their humble little home and ran towards where she knew Hathon, the closest city, to be._

_She didn’t get far before she ran into a large, imposing looking Cardassian. Before she had time to react, he grabbed her arm and held on. She twisted and kicked and screamed, trying to escape, terrified that she had found one of the men who had harmed her mother._

_“Be still child. What are you doing out alone?” his voice boomed._

_“I… I… My mother… Two of your men… they hurt and killed her…” she stumbled over her words as he held her. It was a serious thing to accuse a Cardassian soldier of such._

_“And your father? Where is he?”_

_“He-- he is-- away. They said he-- he was dead too.” Her bottom lip trembled as she spoke, making her words nearly indecipherable._

_The solider smiled a twisted grin as a dark, sinister plan came to him. He knew he was going to thoroughly enjoy such a delightfully devious idea. He gently set her down on the ground and couldn’t deny the fact that she was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. The halo of blonde hair looked white in the bright day and her large blue eyes were flawless azure. She would be the perfect specimen to add to the collection of young girls he had begun to gather for his amusement and to work as infiltrators to the resistance. “So you are all alone, you poor thing,” he cooed almost pitifully. “If you come along with me, I am sure I can track down the soldiers who robbed you of your mother and punish them.”_

_Solita had always been taught not to trust the Cardassians, but this soldier was kind and was even offering to help punish the men who had killed her mother just hours before. When he offered his hand, she gazed up at him with trusting eyes and he reassured her with a warm smile. Solita took his hand, unbeknownst to her that she was enjoying her final walk of freedom for five years._                     

        Solita shook away the painful memories of how she had become an orphan and had come to be in the grasps of the Glinn that had tortured and starved and beat her for five long years of what should have been her childhood.                    

        “I have no-where to go home to now that I have escaped. May I stay here?” she asked, hopeful that they would over look her enforced act of deception.        

         Everyone turned to look at their leader.  Shakaar studied the faces staring back at him.  Many still had doubt, many looked conflicted, as if they wouldn't know how to vote if he were to ask their opinion.  Lupaza's look was clear to read--one that said "you had better agree or I'm going to raise hell".  Then again, she had always had a soft spot for the youngest and the ones with the harshest stories to tell.  It was Lupaza who had insisted on allowing Kaelinn to remain with the cell after they'd gotten her out of Gallitep.  It was Lupaza who had talked him into adding a stubborn girl to their mission team five years ago one cold night when they were a man short. That stubborn girl was now in the clutches of Gul Dukat.  Which was due to Solita's duplicity, albeit forced duplicity, and that meant she would bear careful watching.                   

         "She can stay--for now."  Shakaar fixed his gaze on Solita.  "She will be watched at all times."  She seemed sincere about making amends, but he was taking no chances with the safety of his cell.  He watched her wilt slightly under his stare, but she didn't break the eye lock for another full minute. He wasn't sure whether to take that as a good sign or not.                   

          "Kaelinn, Jeniat will take your place in the perimeter watch.  You're to keep watch on the girl."  Until they could put a plan into motion to get Nerys off Terok Nor, he decided this would be punishment enough for Reanla's rash behavior earlier.                   

           Reanla was shocked at the order, but knew better than to protest.  Her shame continued to war with her residual anger as the impromptu gathering broke up, almost everyone going back to what they'd been doing before Solita had arrived in their midst.  Shakaar calling Furel and Mobara aside was the only difference.  No doubt they were going to start working on a rescue mission. Jeniat handed her the phaser back before he shouldered his own rifle and headed for the mouth of the caves.                   

            Lupaza was fussing over Solita, gently but insistently pressing half of her evening ration into the girl's hands--that Solita needed to eat.                   

           Reanla plunked herself down near the girl, but refused to look at her.  Oh, she could see the girl moving out of the corner of her eye, but she wouldn't look directly at her.                   

          “I would have shot me too,” Solita commented dryly as she munched on the ration cake. “I am not angry at you and I wanted to reiterate how sorry I am about Nerys. The guilt over what I’d done was great enough to make me dig the transmitter out from under my own skin and take the risk of escaping the man who has tortured me and threatened to kill me if I defy him. I hope you can forgive me and forgive yourself for the error you almost made.”                   

          "That depends on how well you prove yourself in the coming days." Reanla couldn't really say what she was thinking, lest she bring Shakaar's wrath down on her head.  She was in enough trouble with him already and she wasn’t about to push him to the level of rarely seen anger by foolishly speaking her mind to this girl.                   

           “We will bring her back. From what I overhead, she was too important to the prefect to kill,” Solita stated then quietly finished the rest of her ration cake.                    

           Reanla didn't have an answer to that that she could voice.  On one hand, some small part of her appreciated the girl's blind optimism.  On the other hand, her other statement was chilling.  "Important to the prefect" could only mean one thing.  It was a fate she'd narrowly escaped at Gallitep, except for the Dukat factor.  It had been three years, but she knew she'd never be able to erase the memory of that night in the caves.  She shuddered as the shadowy image of Varsal rose to the front of her thoughts and forced herself to blank her mind, to shake it out.  But that only brought back the idea of what would befall Nerys.  Her pagh-sister would be tempted and wooed by Dukat.  Given Nerys' attitude, such advances would fail miserably and therefore be likely to incite Dukat's anger.  He would then rape her himself, if not permit every soldier on board Terok Nor to violate her. Then, and only then, would he kill her...


	2. Chapter 2

                “I thought we might-- start off a little differently this time,” Dukat suggested as he entered her quarters, holding the tray of klavaatu, the decanter of the spring wine and two glasses.              

                Kira stared icicles at him from where she sat on the couch. She was not interested in starting over with him, only gaining freedom to access the station and to find a way to escape. She knew she was going to have to play ball if she wanted out of her quarters.               

                “Perhaps we should discuss the terms of my imprisonment on this station, since I don’t want to live my life in these quarters,” she commented as sincerely as she could muster.               

                Dukat’s eyes lit up at her newly found agreeable nature. “Oh Nerys, I don’t want you to think of yourself as a prisoner. You are my guest and I would love to afford you the same freedom as the other kept women on the station. You just have to give me reason to trust you.”              

                Her stomach churned and flip-flopped at his underlying suggestion. Never could she invite him to her bed or into her body. She kept silent as he slid the tray onto the table before her. As a show of good faith, she poured him a glass of wine, then one for herself. She raised her glass as she handed him his, then clinked them together before taking a sip. The smooth, velvet liquid exploded with flavors against her tongue and she had to stop herself from allowing the sip to become a gulp. It was the best vintage of spring wine she had ever tasted.               

                Dukat watched her indulge in the wine, carefully wondering at her sincerity. He was distracted by her good nature and her beauty. Underneath the hardened exterior and years of resistance life, he would see the flower waiting to bloom. He was anxious to be the sun, the water and the nourishment her flower needed to bloom into her full beauty. He wanted to possess her and love her arduously, but he restrained. He was certain she was just playing with him; trying to get her way. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and allow her some freedom, but he didn’t want her to slip between his fingers and escape.               

                Her stomach defied her, growling viciously at the smell of the klavaatu beckoning her from the table. She gingerly reached for a piece, expecting the offer to be a game attached with a price. Dukat just watched her as he settled into the cushion next to her on the couch. Her eyes never left his face as she bit into the exotic fruit, expecting the sharp bite of poison to greet her taste buds. Instead, the slippery, sweet juice coated the inside of her mouth and a quick look of ecstasy passed across her features. She had never tasted anything so delightful and satisfying in all her life.               

                Dukat saw the look of enjoyment and took advantage of her lowered guard. He slid closer and reached out, caressing her warm cheek with the back of his fingers. “I want to be able to show you more pleasures like this, Nerys.”              

                She sat the half-eaten fruit down on the tray, no longer hungry as the unwelcome contact continued. She reached up and wrapped her hand around his then brought it to her lips to kiss the top of his icy hand.               

                “Let me leave my quarters and release the Shakaar and we will see exactly what pleasures you have to offer me.” She wanted to vomit at her own words. All of a sudden, the spring wine and the fruit were sitting like rocks in her belly. She had to imagine that among his species he was considered highly attractive, regal and very desirable, but all of the attributes that made him such were wasted on her. She loathed him for forcing her into a situation where she would potentially have to sell her body to pay the price of saving her family from certain death.               

                He couldn’t control the thrill of anticipation that swelled within. He had waited for her for so long, but he would have to wait a little longer to ensure her loyalties. He leaned forward, capturing her head between his hands, he pressed his lips to her forehead just above her delicate nose ridges.               

                “Unfortunately, I must cut our meeting short, but I will arrange an escort for you so that you might enjoy the promenade,” he announced, standing abruptly and leaving her alone on the couch.               

                Kira wanted desperately to rub away the feel of his lips on her forehead, but restrained herself against the urge. She was being rewarded for her superb performance and she didn’t want to ruin it by showing him the contempt she harbored for him by rubbing away his kiss. She wasn’t fond of the idea of an escort, but at least she was getting out of her quarters.               

                As an added temptation, Dukat flipped his credit chip onto the table in front of her. “Anything you desire, charge to my name, but don’t let those merchants take advantage of you because they most certainly will. And watch out for that Ferengi. If he sees you coming with my credit chip, he will quadruple his prices.” It was an incentive to make her believe he fully trusted her. Also, he could use his credit chip to track her movements on the station, to gauge if he could really trust her by monitoring which vendors she visited and who she came into contact with.               

                Kira picked up the chip and fiddled with it for a moment before tucking it into her breast pocket with a nod. She didn’t care about shopping unless it meant buying a ship or at least buying passage back to Bajor.               

                Dukat slide out of her quarters, not noticing the fly that had landed on his shoulders, riding along all the way back to his office until it flew up overhead and perched on one of the lights that illuminated the room.               

                He sat down at his desk and felt very satisfied with himself as he opened a channel to Bajor, waiting for a few moments for Glinn Dernik to appear.               

                “Have the Shakaar been captured?”              

                “We are working on it, Prefect. The infiltrator I planted has defied us, dug the transmitter from her shoulder with a rock and disposed of it, but I think we know where they are hiding. It is only a matter of time,” Dernik reported.               

                “Double your efforts. I want them found within the next day or I might have to find another use for you, Dernik,” Dukat threatened before closing the channel. He knew such a threat would serve to motivate Dernik since his only real desire to stay on Bajor was linked to the pretty, young girls he collected and amused himself with.               

                Dukat reclined in his chair, his mood failing to sour at Dernik’s short comings as he thought of beautiful Nerys. As he contemplated calling Odo to escort her around the station, he failed to notice as the fly, once perched on a light above, as it flew out of the room through one of the air ducts. He decided he would wait a bit and give her time to finish the lavish treat he spoiled her with. 

*********

                Gartin Dernik hated appearing a fool in front of Dukat. He was never going to make the rank of Gul if these mistakes kept happening. This wasn’t the first time he had not produced when he had been called upon. And now, Solita had made him look like even more of an incompetent. Anger coursed through his veins and he knew he had been defied. His men had found the trail of blood, had followed the transmitter until they lost it when the stream dumped into a lake.              

                “Sir, will you be requiring anything else?” Ashriel Miz’teki asked, meekly, as she knelt at his feet.               

                He fastened his fatal gaze upon the small girl at his feet. She had been polishing his boots when Dukat had called and he had nearly forgotten about her for a moment. His temper began to evaporate as he let his eyes rake over her.               

                “Stand before me,” he commanded. Quickly, she leapt to her feet and stood, keeping her eyes adverted to the floor. Those eyes were honey colored, large and terrified when she dared to look him in the face. She was a shy girl, thin at the waist but pleasantly plump in the curve of her hips and breasts. Long, brown umber locks brushed her waist and curled at the ends. He knew she was young and ripe, just as he liked them. It delighted him to torment and defile them and make them come under his control. He had thought he had thoroughly broken Solita, having started at such a young age with her, but now she would have to die for her deception. But the young beauty before him, now she would be his pet project; she would be his diversion from his pitiful existence on this wretched planet.               

                “Sir, may I fetch anything else for you?” she asked, nervously chewing on her full, pouty lower lip.               

                “How old are you, my sweet girl?”              

                “Thirteen this month, Sir,” she answered, trembling.              

                “Only one year from adulthood, isn’t that right?”              

                “Yes, Sir.”              

                Dernik wheeled his chair closer and stopped when she was standing between his spread knees. He ran his hands up and down her arms then turned her so she was facing away from him so he could appraise her backside. “So plump, so young. Do you know Cardassian children are not considered adult age until their eighteenth year and even then they are still children until they marry,” he told her, turning her to face him again. He pushed back from her and stood, his height making her look so much more petite and child-like. “By your culture’s standards you are close enough to an adult for my desires. On your knees and loosen my belt, Miz’teki,” he snapped, his hands on her shoulders, pushing her into the submissive position.               

                Miz’teki dropped to the floor and curled into a ball. “Please,” she sobbed as the tears began, “please don’t make me do this.” She had heard all about his ways from Solita before she had disappeared. Secretly, she had been glad he had picked Solita because then she didn’t have to suffer through the horrors her friend had to. Solita would return to their quarters after having been absent for days at a time. She would be bleeding, bruised, bitten, and looking terrible. She wouldn’t eat and would sob about how she wanted to die, rather than let him siphon more of her pagh away than he already had.               

                His anger was fanned by her rejection and he reached down, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her knees. “You dare defy me, Bajoran slut? How dare you defy me!” he roared as she covered her ears and cried harder. He threw her to the floor and then his crushing weight was on her. He tore at the thin, white slip she wore, leaving it in shreds on the floor and baring her body. He covered her fully with his body and pressed his lips to her ear. “I will show you the price for defying me, bitch,” he hissed.               

                It was a brief blessing and Miz’teki gasped in momentary relief as he left her lying on the floor, curled in a ball. It was only when she heard the voices of two of the soldiers did fear and panic grip her heart. She peeked up from the floor to see Dernik grinning like a vicious demon.               

                “Enjoy her, with my compliments,” Dernik instructed then reclined back to watch the show, even as Miz’teki screamed in sheer horror, realizing what was to happen to her as the soldiers disrobed. “Perhaps next time, you will see fit to loosen my belt and hold your tongue about it.” 

*********

                “I have come to serve as your escort,” Odo announced as the door slid open to reveal Kira Nerys. “Are you ready?”              

                Kira patted her breast pocket, planning to do what she could to secure her escape using the prefect’s credit chip. “Yes, ready for an afternoon of shopping without the consequence of paying. Lead the way to the most exclusive vendors,” she used her arm to gesture down the corridor.               

                “This way to the turbolift,” Odo directed, allowing her to take the lead. He considered her as they walked, considered the information he had just come into and considered the ramifications of informing her of the conversation he had overhead between the Prefect and one of his soldiers on the surface. He didn’t want to become involved, but he was. He couldn’t stand to watch the Prefect manipulate Kira Nerys for his own personal gain.              

                Kira entered the turbolift with Odo at her side. She was grateful that Dukat had been kind enough to forego the Cardassian guards. She had a feeling she would be able to maneuver around Odo when it came to attempting to secure a ship or at least transport back to the surface. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him to be competent, she just expected that he was not as xenophobic or suspicious as the Cardassians were.               

                “Do you like working for the Cardassians?” she asked, trying to make conversation.               

                “I don’t have a point of reference to compare to, but I am not unhappy working for the Prefect.”              

                “Even though it means aiding the oppression of my people?” She couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t wanted to seem unpleasant to him, but it was the fact.               

                Odo did not say anything. Her words were the truth because he did help to keep order on the station and assisted in keeping the Bajorans under the thumbs of the Cardassians. He had learned that Bajorans were usually guilty until proven innocent. As he pondered on this fact, he began to wonder if he had taken sides without having meant to and without having examined the facts of both sides. Consequentially, did that give her grounds to dislike him for working for Gul Dukat by choice?               Before he could formulate an answer for her, the doors swished aside and she had already slipped out and into the crowd of people on the promenade. He was left with no option but to fall into step at her heels.              

                Odo followed her from shop to shop as she browsed the racks and shelves. She smelled ceremonial incense, held up garments in front of herself as she looked undecidedly in full length mirrors, fingered little trinkets, and always seemed to swap a few words with the shopkeepers just out of his earshot. Oddly enough, she never left carrying packages, though she did seem to make a purchase because the shopkeepers handled the credit chip. As they left the herb shop, he began to believe she was purchasing information. He didn’t have enough evidence to support such, but decided that there would be no more exchanges between her and the shopkeepers outside of his hearing range.               

                “I am famished,” she announced, “let’s find somewhere for a drink and a meal.”              

                “We can visit the Replimat,” Odo suggested, turning towards that direction.               

                “No, I think I would rather visit Quarks. The shop keepers have told me so much about his establishment that I should like to see it for myself,” Kira decided, turning in the opposite direction as though she knew right where it was.               

                Odo sighed. He wasn’t a fan of the little Ferengi, but if Kira was, indeed, purchasing information, naturally the shopkeepers would have pointed her right to Quark’s front door. He had the feeling that the devious little man was involved in various forms of illegal activity and it was only a matter of time before he would be able to prove it.               

                It had been a productive morning. Kira was proud of herself for having been so stealthy. She had managed to obtain the names of several of the ships that made daily trips from Terok Nor to Bajor and back again, a schedule of the docking times, and even the guard schedule which showed when the security of the station was thinner than normal. It was the herb shopkeeper who had directed her to Quark, citing him as being able to accomplish nearly anything for a price, including smuggling someone off of the station.              

                Just as they were about to cross the threshold, they were accosted by Dukat and Kira felt fear chill her within. Had one of the shopkeepers betrayed her and tipped him off to her questioning, her purchases that weren’t really purchases at all?               

                He snaked an arm around her waist, protectively, which caused curious onlookers from within the bar to cast their stares back into their drinks. “Are you enjoying your shopping, ale’al?              

                Kira’s head snapped towards him, feeling nauseous at the warm, tender look he bestowed upon her. She didn’t know which was worse, the sound of the Bajoran term of endearment from his tongue or what it implied as to their relationship for anyone within earshot. She remembered to turn on the charm just before she covered his boots with what remained of her breakfast in her belly. “Thank you for such a wonderfully fulfilling morning, Prefect.” She watched Odo cast his eyes to the ground and decided to ask on his discomfort when she was afforded the right moment.               

                “Nerys, I think it’s about time you started calling me by my name. Skrain.”               

                She smiled shyly and almost seductively. “Skrain, would you like to join us for a drink?” she gestured to Quarks, already knowing that he would turn down her offer. She had also learned from the shop keepers that he was not one for keeping company with the Ferengi.               

                “As much as I wish I could, ale’al, I have duties to attend to. I should hope to join you for dinner this evening and perhaps, if the evening allows, some recreation.”              

                She knew she had to get off the station before he paid a visit to her later that evening. Now, her escape had become a number one priority, but for him, she rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I think I should enjoy that, Skrain.”              

                For her, he gave a smile then parted company with a curt nod to Odo, who failed to acknowledge him, his eyes still focused sharply on his boots. He felt a swell of endearment for the young Bajoran who had started out as such a spitfire. Perhaps he had finally extinguished that fire with a shower of generosity and a full belly. He could only hope that one day she could come to trust him and perhaps even love him. Despite his better judgment, he was beginning to feel a glimmer of that very emotion himself.               

                Kira breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of sight. “Thank the Prophets he is gullible when it comes to women,” she commented under her breath.              

                “I would not use the word gullible to describe the Prefect,” Odo commented, surprising her that he had heard her.               

                “Odo, I have come to learn that men will collapse under the right attention from a woman. Turn on the charm, promise to fulfill their most intimate desires and they will be putty in your hands,” she replied as she slid into a chair at the bar.               

                Odo didn’t know much about intimate desires, but he found himself thinking he might enjoy being putty in her soft, delicate hands. She was so worldly, so very charismatic. He wondered at the possibilities of intimacy with a woman such as Kira Nerys. Strangely enough, it seemed that his temperature rose a couple of degrees as he thought about such an action. To distract himself from such thoughts, he wondered at her supposed feminine ability to turn a man into putty and decided to watch her carefully for such behavior. He wanted to know exactly what she had been talking about.                

                “To what do I owe the pleasure of such a beautiful woman at my bar?” Quark grinned toothily.               

                Kira returned the smile, her eyes sparkling brightly. “Rumor has it that Quark is the most delightful host on the station and that his prices are triple what you would pay at a tavern on the surface, but the drinks are good.”              

                “Now my own mother would roll in her grave if she knew I was gouging prices by triple! And she is not even dead yet! They are scarcely double. I might be motivated by profit, but even I know what is fair,” Quark leaned towards her, resting his arms on the bar.               

                Odo was impressed by what a quick study Kira was in the ways of the Ferengi. He, himself, had not met many of the species, but had found one common denominator. They were all motivated by profit. He wondered where she could have possibly met a Ferengi unless she had been treated to such knowledge about them by the shopkeepers. He was even more shocked when she leaned across the bar and stroked a finger along his lobe.               

                “Now profit is exactly what I came here to discuss,” she whispered and Quarks eyes lit up when she flipped the Prefect’s credit chip onto the bar in front of her.               

                “And how about we discuss it over a drink?” he asked, deciding he liked this pretty redheaded Bajoran very much.               

                “Exactly what I was hoping for,” Kira replied, leaning back from him, just in case Dukat was somewhere monitoring the interaction between them. She glanced sideways at Odo and realized that he was observing her very intently. She knew there was no possible way she was going to be able to discuss her needs with Quark so long as he was sitting next to her. She sighed and gazed around the bar, wondering how she could put some distance between herself and Odo and still be able to convey what she wanted to Quark. With a grin, she noticed the dabo tables and knew exactly how to get what she wanted.               

                “The stardrifter seems to be a favorite,” Quark announced as he set the bright green drink in front of her. “Can I get you anything?” he asked Odo, politely as though trying to impress Kira.               

                “Nothing, thank you,” he replied, though Quark had already tuned him out, concentrating his full attention on the young woman sipping the green concoction.               

                “So, Quark, do you think you could show me how to play that game?” she asked, pointing towards the dabo tables.              

                The saucy grin reappeared on Quarks face as he came around the bar with piqued interest. “Of course I can.” He offered her his hand, which she accepted and headed towards the tables.               

 _Oh no you don’t,_ Odo thought as he followed closely, not allowing them to slip away where he could not hear them. He wanted to know exactly what she had planned and, if possible, what Quark’s involvement would be.               

                Kira realized they had been joined by Odo and she chewed her lip as Quark helped her place a bet and explained the rules of the game to her. Naturally, he would see to it that she won the first few rounds before her luck mysteriously changed and he bled her credit chip dry.               

                Odo watched for a few moments and followed as they changed tables and then tried to slip between other customers, trying to separate themselves from his attentiveness. He did not allow it.               

                She was frantic. Her time was slowly expiring and Quark was beginning to lose interest as he realized that his bar was getting busier and his brother was failing to keep up with the demands. If she was still on Terok Nor at dinner time, she would be expected to play her roll in Dukat’s twisted desires and she knew she couldn’t even lie her way through such a performance.               

                “It is time to be returning to your quarters. The allotted time for your promenade excursion has expired,” Odo announced.               

                Despite the panicked screams from within, she obediently followed him towards the turbolift, away from the Promenade and all of the hard work she accomplished. With one last look towards the busy flow of people, she stepped into the lift beside Odo, cursing him for aiding Dukat in keeping her a prisoner.               

                “Halt turbolift.”              

                Kira turned, giving him a curious look at the sudden order. She almost questioned him, but waited for him to speak.               

                “I felt that you should know that Gul Dukat does not have your friends imprisoned and that he lied to you about releasing them. I overheard Dukat ordering Glinn Dernik to double his efforts in capturing your friends.” Odo felt relieved that he had told her the truth.               

                She was furious, now. She should have known that Dukat would not allow the opportunity to destroy one of the resistance cells pass him by. And, the fact that he doubled the efforts to find them meant that he intended to use the Shakaar and their lives to ensure her loyalties and her intentions. He meant to buy her virtue with their very lives and, once he had it, he would execute them anyway. She hated him. She wanted to see exactly what color the Prefect would bleed when she ripped his heart from his chest.               

                “You have to help me, now,” she insisted. She saw his reluctant look and reached for his smooth hand. “Odo, please, if I am here long enough for that dinner, I… I just can’t imagine it. Please, help me.”              

                Her pleading eyes, dark and needing were his undoing and he had a feeling that they would be for a very long time. He knew he couldn’t let himself slip into his bucket that night, knowing what Dukat intended to do to this beautiful woman whom he was beginning to feel very attached to. “All right, Nerys. I will help you.” 

*********

                She had been expecting the lecture, but not quite so soon.  Reanla knew dragging her feet wouldn't do any good, so she forced herself to cross the distance remaining between her and Shakaar, where he stood watching the last rays of sunlight fade over the distant horizon.              

                "You asked to see me?"  When a slight nod was her only answer, she sighed softly and plunged on.  "I apologize for my rash behavior earlier.  I heard that Nerys was in Dukat's hands and that it was because of Solita--and I did not stop to think that she'd been threatened into doing so.  All I could think of was my former cellmates...."  She shuddered and embraced herself to ward off the chill that shimmered down her spine.              

                “And what would killing that little girl have solved?” he shouted. He rarely shouted, but he couldn’t let this slip past. They were not in the business of slaughtering their own people and especially those who came of their own volition to give them information. He couldn’t deny the fact that Solita had made an error in judgment in luring Nerys to what could possibly mean her death, but it wasn’t as though she were given a choice, either. “I agree Solita is not completely innocent, but when she was afforded the opportunity, she made the correct choice in fleeing. She risked her life to come here only to nearly have it stripped away at your hand. You need to learn to think before you act, Kaelinn!”              

                Not expecting him to raise his voice, Reanla flinched at the furious tone.  Despite the harshness, he spoke the truth and she knew it.  "I'm sorry, Shakaar."  Her voice was a barely heard whisper.  "I have already asked for and been granted her forgiveness, and now I ask it of you."  She didn't dare look him in the face, keeping her eyes on the ground.              

                Shakaar reigned himself back a bit. He hadn’t meant to shout at her, but he had been furious with the lack of judgment she had shown. He sighed. “I forgive you, Kaelinn. But I expect you to show a little better judgment in the future.”              

                Reanla nodded and murmured her thanks, glad that he had calmed down.  She still couldn't meet his eyes--and couldn't fathom why.  Unlike Nerys, she didn't have a crush on their leader--he was too much like a favorite older brother to her.  She was about to head back into the caves when Mobara came running up.  The urgent look on his face stirred her anxiety.              

                "What is it?" Shakaar demanded.              

                "Comm for you--a stranger.  He's very insistent, told me he would speak to no one but you and you alone."  Mobara's look was dark as he shook his head.  "I don't like it."              

                "Did he say what he wanted?"  Shakaar was already striding back into the caves and Mobara almost had to run to keep up.  Reanla hurried behind them, both curious and apprehensive.  Had they been found out?              

                "No--just insisted on speaking to you directly."              

                Shakaar’s curiosity got the best of him and he followed Mobara into the cavern where they kept the communications equipment. He stepped in front of the feed and punched the button to bring the strangers face up on the screen. The face was not Bajoran, Cardassian or of any species he had ever encountered. “I am Shakaar, leader of this cell. Identify yourself, stranger.”              

                “My name is Odo and I am the chief of security on Terok Nor. I am contacting you on behalf of Kira Nerys,” the stranger stated.               

                “I demand to speak to her,” Shakaar insisted.               

                “No time. I have to close this channel very soon, but I am assisting her in escaping from the station. She will be arriving on a ship in Ashalla at thirteen hundred hours tomorrow.” And in an instant, Odo’s face disappeared from the screen, leaving blackness in its place.               

                Shakaar and Mobara exchanged grim looks.  Each knew the other was thinking exactly the same thing.  This could very well be a trap--Nerys being used as bait in order for the Cardassians to capture the entire cell.  It wouldn't be the first time one member of a Resistance cell had been abducted and used to lure the rest of the cell into captivity.  And what of this stranger--Odo?  Who was he?  More importantly, what was he?              

                "Do you think we should risk it?"              

                Shakaar shook his head and sighed.  "It smells like a trap, but if this Odo really does intend to help Nerys, we can't leave her stranded in the capital."              

                “I’ll go,” Solita announced, having accidentally overhead the whole conversation. She had been making her way through the tunnels to find Kaelinn when she had head voices in one of the caverns. “I can easily elude the detection grid because of my size and besides, this could be my opportunity to prove I am not a traitor.”              

                Shakaar considered the young girl. She was right in the fact that she was among the few that could circumvent the detection grid, but he didn’t feel right about sending her, especially not alone. “You can’t take on a mission like this on your own.”              

                "She won't be alone."  Reanla set a hand lightly on Solita's shoulder as she spoke.  "I'll be her escort."  Her eyes met Shakaar's, silently asking for permission as a final step towards making amends for her earlier behavior.  And more than anything, she wanted to be the one there to see Nerys, to know she was all right.  She knew that if someone else went with Solita, she would be driven mad by the days of waiting.  Better to go herself--and risk discovery or capture--than be left behind to wait.              

                He didn’t like the idea of sending Reanla alone with an inexperienced girl, but he was left with little options. Begrudgingly, he nodded his consent. “Be sure to take a couple of phasers and plenty of rations. We will not be able to come to your aid, Reanla.”              

                "I understand."                

                Solita hurried away to get the rations as Reanla made sure to grab three phasers--two for herself, one for Solita, and a small dagger that could be easily concealed in her boot.  If Solita couldn't use the phaser, it would be there as a reserve--and Nerys could always use it once she joined them for the journey back.  She refused to consider "ifs", focusing on the "whens" instead.  Solita soon returned with a small satchel slung over her shoulder, a hesitant smile on her childlike face.              

                Reanla strapped on the palmlight that Mobara was holding out to her.  "We'd better head out now in order to get into Ashalla by morning."  She looked to Solita.  "Are you ready?"              

                Solita nodded, her eyes wide with fear and expectation at what was to come. She was going on her first real mission with a resistance cell and she couldn’t help the twinge of anticipation that tickled the back of her mind. She was hopeful that if she proved herself worthy, they really would allow her to stay with them and learn to fight the Cardassians. Her thoughts were brought back to her childhood friend, Retika Biljen. She wondered if he really had grown up and become a resistance fighter as he had always dreamed. “Have you ever heard the name Retika Biljen among your contacts in the resistance?” she asked Reanla as they left the safety of the caves.                   

                Reanla gestured for quiet, keeping her ears pricked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.  Once Derna's light became more visible after they had made it to the bottom of the hills, she switched the palmlight off.  Better to leave it for crossing through the wooded areas where moonlight couldn't reach.  She took Solita's hand to help her through the rocky area that led into the woods, turning the palmlight back on once they were fully cloaked in the shadows cast by the branches.                   

                "First thing you need to know--silence is necessary as often as possible."  Reanla whispered the words low in Solita's ear as they walked at a swift pace.  "Voices carry, which means you could be caught."                   

                Solita hurried along to keep up with Reanla as they ducked through the forest. She was impressed by Reanla’s pace through the darkness, guided by just the palm beacon. She led them through trees and low slung branches with a practiced ease as though she had memorized the forest’s layout. She was anxious to make small talk, to get to know Reanla better, but she held her tongue. The last thing she wanted was to give away their location and be the cause of their capture.                   

                It took three hours to cross through the forest and thankfully, the only other inhabitants in the forest seemed to be the nightly wildfire.  When they reached the far edge of the forest, Reanla pushed Solita down into a nearby thicket of bushes and switched off the palmlight.  With quick gestures, Reanla indicated that Solita needed to stay put while she made sure there were no patrols lurking beyond the forest edge.                   

                Solita didn’t like being left alone in the thicket. The sick, scared feeling returned and when it seemed as though hours had passed, though it had just been a few minutes, she poked her head up above the bushes to see if she could see any sign of Reanla returning. She gripped her phaser tightly, taking in the darkness around her. The sounds of crunching leaves made her throat go dry with fear as she broke out into a cold sweat.                    

                “Reanla?” she whispered, trying to see in the inky darkness. Why couldn’t she see the palmlight as she returned. What if something happened to her? Solita wasn’t sure she would be able to find her way to Ashalla alone and she knew she would never be able to find her way back to the caves alone either. “Reanla, please answer me,” she whispered, knowing she had been warned to stay silent. She couldn’t help it. She was full of terror.                      

                A hand slipped over Solita's mouth and she nearly screamed before recognizing that the skin of the hand was smooth, not scaled.  Reanla leaned in so close that she was practically on top of the younger girl.  "Patrol of three, two tessipates to the west of us."  Her voice was a ghost of a whisper.  "We have to move low in order to escape detection--make a wide circle east and then we should be out of visual range if one is awake to stand guard.  Move slowly--but not too slowly.  Be careful of noise."  Reanla fell silent, listening intently to make sure she didn't hear any signs of the Cardassians stirring by their nearly-burned out fire, then tapped Solita's hand and gestured in the direction they needed to go.                   

                Her terror had not subsided. The very last thing she wanted was for them to get captured. She moved at a steady pace, crouched to the ground, careful to watch Reanla for signals as to when they should move and when they should hold their position. She listened sharply to the sounds of the forest, carefully placing her hands and feet as she moved uncomfortably. She was almost certain they would be able to hear her heart thundering in her chest because it was almost deafening in her own ears.                   

                Reanla didn't breath easily until they'd put at least seven tessipates between them and the small patrol.  After another careful listen, she turned the palmlight on low, mostly keeping it against her thigh except for the faintest sliver of light to show the way.  Around the bend up ahead was another thicket of trees.  This one ran for several kilometers until it reached the border of Dahkur.  Ashalla was at least half of that distance.  If they kept going, they could easily make it to the outskirts of the city by dawn.  Then they could find somewhere to rest until it was time to meet Nerys.                   

                Solita was glad to put the soldiers behind them, but she didn’t dare speak until Reanla spoke to her first. They followed the thicket of trees and Solita began counting them to pass the time. She had lost track of the count well into the hundreds when the city of Ashalla finally came into view on the horizon. The lights glowed above the horizon at first then grew brighter and brighter until the buildings and landscape erupted into view. Solita gasped, never having seen a city the size of Ashalla before. It was beautiful to behold, the lights playing against the clouds in the sky, the buildings reaching in all directions of various shapes and sizes.                     

                "We'll stop here."  Reanla's soft words broke the hours of silence between them.  "The woods are still thick enough so we won't be seen even after daybreak and we can take turns keeping watch.  I'll go first."  She gestured Solita into a spot naturally made by the trees--it was a tiny cleared area between half a dozen thick, aged bienza just barely big enough for them.  Well, big enough for Solita to lay almost stretched out.  Reanla could tell she'd have to spend her rest period in a curled position.  "Get some rest.  I'll wake you in three hours."                   

                “Please, Reanla. Retika Biljen, do you know the name?” Solita asked in a whisper as she smoothed out a spot on the ground to lay down.                    

                Reanla quickly searched her memory, then shook her head.  "But I'm not well-acquainted with people outside the Shakaar.  When we get back, we'll ask him about your friend."  Without thinking, she gently smoothed back Solita's bangs.  "Get some sleep."                   

                Solita felt disappointed, but was comforted by Reanla’s gentle gesture. As her eyes fluttered closed, she was reminded of a time when her mother would stroke her hair as she fell asleep. Soon, her breathing slowed and she drifted into a light sleep accompanied by dreams of a little blonde haired girl giggling as she ran through the long, sweet grass, chased by the taller, dark haired boy she had her heart set on marrying one day.  

*********

                     She was frantic. She knew Dukat would be arriving to join her for dinner at any moment and he was going to expect her to make good on her titillations.                    

                She eyed the tray of delicacies he had sent for her to enjoy for her midday meal and she was sideswiped by a stroke of brilliance. The tika nuts! She was mildly allergic to tika nuts! She would ingest just enough to give her a low grade fever, abdominal craps and nausea; nothing that would cause a visit to the infirmary, but enough to convince Dukat that she would be unable to perform for him. The price was a small one to pay, and she was almost certain that the symptoms would be gone in time for her to board the transport.                    

                Quickly, Kira devoured a handful of the tika nuts. She loved the taste of them, but she knew that they didn’t love her. The last time she had eaten them had been when her father had brought some home as a special treat around the time of the Gratitude Festival of her sixth year. She had devoured an entire bowl full of the sweet, oily little nuts only to find herself doubled over in agony and bedridden for three days with severe abdominal cramps. If she kept her consumption of the villainous little nuts to a minimum, she could only hope that her body would spare her a serious reaction.                    

                After she had downed the nuts, she pushed the platter away and checked her appearance in the mirror. She had left her hair lose around her shoulders and had even worn the garment he had sent for her. She knew it was Cardassian in design and she had loathed putting it on, but she knew she had to be convincing. She had to do it for the Shakaar and if she wanted to ensure that she was available to board the transport in the morning.                    

                The first of the stomach cramps began just as the door hissed, announcing his arrival. She clutched her stomach, the pain was not unbearable, mostly annoying. She quickly curled up onto the couch in the fetal position.                    

                “Nerys, my ale’al, I have brought you the most magnificent feast and I am sure you will…” Dukat stopped short at the sight of her doubled over on the couch. A look of genuine concern interrupted his features as he slid their dinner tray onto the table next to the one from her midday meal that looked as though it hadn’t been touched.              

                “I must have eaten something…” she began, wiping her sweating forehead with the back of her hand.               

                Dukat felt the fury rage through his veins. “Someone poisoned you!” he roared. “We have to get you to the infirmary now!” He slid onto the couch next to her, trying to slide his arms under her knees and around her back.               

                “No, please, Skrain, it is just an allergic reaction. It’s the tika nuts. After I ate them and began having symptoms, I remembered having the same reaction from when I was a child.” Just as she finished speaking, the cramps grew more painful. She squint her eyes and forced herself to breathe through her nose, trying to control the pain.               

                “Let me take you to the infirmary, I am sure they can treat you,” he insisted.               

                “No, no, it should pass soon. Stay with me?” she pleaded. The last thing she wanted was for some Cardassian butcher of a doctor to begin experimenting on her with drugs that would supposedly counteract the effects of the nuts. She would rather die a thousand deaths then allow one of them to get their hands on her.               

                Dukat knew he should have insisted on taking her for treatment, but he couldn’t force her; especially not when she was reaching out for him in her time of need. She had asked him to stay with her, had been revealed in a time of weakness and hadn’t shied away. He would not ruin his chance to prove to her that he was not the monster in the horror stories that Bajoran parents put their children to bed with. He slid onto the couch next to her and gently lifted her head into his lap. Lightly, he stroked his fingers across her cheek and through her soft auburn locks.               

                “You are precious to me, Nerys, and I want nothing more than to take care of you and ensure your safety.”              

                Maybe it was the mild delirium from the allergic reaction… it had to be the delirium from the allergic reaction, but Kira did not fight his caress. The cool fingers turned into the full palm of his cool hand against her cheek. She did not trust him in the least and she kept telling herself that his touch disgusted her. Deep down, she couldn’t deny that she wanted to be touched and caressed. She wanted to believe that underneath the military and armored exterior that Skrain Dukat was a good, gentle man. She tried to imagine him with a wife and children, even allowing herself to step into such a role in her delirious imagery. When she gazed up at him, she caught a moment of revealed weakness as he gazed back at her, an emotion in his eyes Nerys had never been looked at with before. She shivered and, mistaking it for a chill, he pulled a blanket up over her. What if she stayed with him and lived the life he afforded her? Could she really forget about her endangered comrades and way of life on Bajor to become guilty of being a collaborator? Would the full belly, fancy gowns, jewels, and love of this man be worth all of that? Though the caress of his hand was gentle now, could she expect it to stay that way once he had her and no longer had to impress her?              

                “I think you should drink some water, Nerys. I don’t want you to become dehydrated,” he said, lifting a glass from the table. He drank from it first, still not fully convinced she hadn’t been poisoned. He wanted to be sure before he potentially added fuel to the fire. Basso Tromac would have come out of his skin if he had witnessed him testing a potentially poisonous glass of water before giving it to her. Then it dawned on him. What was he thinking? He was Prefect of Bajor! How could he have been so careless with his life? But, he quit berating himself as he touched the glass to Kira’s lips and she partook in a long, refreshing drink. He didn’t want to admit it, but he loved her. He hadn’t been prepared for the spell she would work on him. She truly was her mother’s daughter, having swept the rug out from beneath him before he realized what had happened. He placed the glass of water on the table and resumed caressing her face, letting his fingers drift down her neck, her bare shoulder then back up again. Even if tonight had not gone as he had planned and hoped, there would be other nights. Right now, she needed his gentle care, not his raging ardor.               

                Kira felt the cramps begin to subside as she drifted off, her head still on his lap. She was at war with her inner self over her intentions but, deep down, she knew what she had to do. She had to board the transport in the morning and return to her resistance cell to help drive the Cardassians off of their world. Regardless of the gentle stirrings deeply within for the man who caressed her so gently, she had to do what was right for her people and herself. Staying with him on Terok Nor was nothing more than a deluded fantasy brought on by the delirium associated with her allergic reaction. It had to be, because she didn’t want to believe it could possibly be anything else.               

                Skrain Dukat gently slid out from beneath Kira, replacing his lap with a soft pillow. He knelt at her side and just stared at her. Since she had been his guest, she had gained a couple of well needed pounds and filled out a little so she didn’t look as much like the skeleton she had been. Her color had gone from pasty to a healthy rose-hue. He wondered if she had looked into a mirror and seen these changes herself and if that had helped her come to the decision to play nice. He wanted her to be someone he could confide in; someone for whom he could leave his armor at the door. As he stood to leave her for the night, he pressed a kiss to the lips of the sleeping beauty, his Nerys. He paused at the door to her quarters, casting a glance back at her sleeping form. He would make sure he checked on her before morning came, but first, he intended to arrange quarters that were more appropriate for the mistress of the Prefect of Bajor. He intended to spoil her in every way he possibly could. He cast one last gentle smile in her direction before donning his armor and stepping out into the corridor where he had to be Prefect once again.  

*********

                It had taken him a little bit of time to figure out exactly how he was going to help Nerys escape, but he had finally come up with a plan that he was certain would work. It was iron clad and he knew the Prefect would never suspect him as assisting her.               

                The time was zero seven hundred and just as scheduled, he punched the chime for Nerys’ quarters. As the doors slid aside, he found her standing before him in an attractive gown of blue and lavender. The plunging neckline and high hemline suggested it was something of Dukat’s choosing.               

                “What’s the plan?” she asked, as she poked her head out to look down the corridor.              

                “We’re going for a walk around the Promenade,” Odo told her as they headed towards the turbolift. He didn’t want her asking a lot of questions in case there were ears about them. “When I give you the signal, you are going to slip away through the crowd and board the ship waiting at docking port six. The pilot has been bought and paid for. Don’t ask any questions. When you arrive on Bajor, you should find friends from your cell waiting to take you back to the hills.”              

                Kira clenched her mouth shut as they stepped out of the turbolift and she took in the overwhelming sights of the Promenade. Even though she had already visited the business hub of the station before, the sights and sounds and smells never failed to amaze her. She always had to take a breath to steady herself against the flow of people. Even at this early hour, the Promenade was bustling with activity. She took a moment to consider the man at her side. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t even thank him for risking his position with Dukat and his life to help her.               

                “I think we should pay a visit to Quark’s,” Odo suggested.               

                Kira could do nothing but nod in agreement to his suggestion, not knowing what the plan was. She followed along, her stomach still tender from her own self-induced allergy attack from the previous evening. And thoughts of the previous evening brought back the strange feelings that were connected with Dukat. She shook her head to clear it of the disturbing thoughts as they entered the bar.               

                Odo caught Quark’s eye and tossed a nod of acknowledgement in his direction which he returned. He knew he could count on Quark to play his role, since he had promised to overlook the suspicious communications activity he had discovered as he had reviewed the logs.              

                Quark caught the nod and jabbed an elbow into his idiot brother’s ribs, giving him the cue to move his bumbling form towards the group of Cardassians playing at one of the dabo tables. He slipped a strip of latinum across the table to the young Bajoran girl who sat across the bar from him and she winked at him.               

                Rom carried the drinks over his head on his hand, feeling very unsteady and unsure of himself, knowing he was supposed to do what his brother had told him. He hadn’t been told why he was to drop the tray into the lap of the largest guard at the dabo table, only that their profits depended on it. As he approached the table, he pretended to stumble until he was in a full teeter and dumped the tray right into the lap of the biggest, meanest looking guard.               

                “Fool!” the soldier roared as he was on his feet and Rom found himself cowering on the floor.               

                “I… I’m s… sorry,” Rom stuttered as he covered his head. “He… he bumped me.” He pointed towards the large man who was sitting at the table behind where the unfortunate soldier with the wet lap had been sitting.               

                The guard grabbed the man and spun him around, landing a punch square in his face as Rom crawled out of harms way and the brawl ensued.               

                “Thief, thief!” Quark began to holler from behind the bar as the young woman he had paid with the strip of latinum dashed out the door in a full run.              

                Odo turned to Nerys. “Go, now,” he nodded towards where the crowd began to gather outside of Quark’s.               

                “Thank you!” she yelled over the ruckus and took a brief moment to squeeze his hand before slipping between a pair of Cardassian soldiers who had rushed forward to aid in breaking up the fight.               

                “That’s enough!” Odo hollered over the squabble, but the men ignored him. He took his time about breaking up the fight even as Quark kept screaming about having been robbed blind. He smiled within at the Ferengi’s performance. Perhaps he really should have checked the communication logs after all to see exactly what he was protecting.               

                Out of the corner of his eye, Quark saw Dukat push his way through the crowd and he decided to beef up his performance. “Robbed blind in the company of the Cardassian guard! I can’t believe it! My profits for the day, cleaned out right now! Someone catch her!”              

                Dukat surveyed the scene for a moment, watching Odo and the guards in his charge bringing the brawl under control, another guard trying to clear the crowd that had gathered. He certainly had made a good choice in the strange being to keep order on his station. He was quick and effective when it came to the occasional squabbles that erupted.               

                As the brawlers were hauled away for questioning, Odo moved to take Quark’s statement about the robbery that had occurred right as the brawl had broken out. Dukat began to wonder if the Ferengi had just used the brawl as a convenient excuse to clean out his cash drawer and claim robbery as a means to gain more of a profit. He didn’t trust that Ferengi one bit.               

                Odo watched Dukat retreat from the scene and rather than head towards Ops, he headed in the direction of the lift that would take him to the habitat ring, presumably to Kira Nerys’ quarters. He now had the unpleasant task of calling him to inform him that Kira had been on the Promenade at the time of the brawl and had slipped away. He paused for a moment, hoping he had given Kira enough time.               

                Kira tried to act as naturally as possible as she walked down the corridor. It was easy to find the docking port and she slipped through the airlock. Fear flooded her as the door rolled closed behind her and hissed as it clamped. She swallowed back her pounding heart and took in her surroundings. She was in a cargo bay. She wondered if she should call the bridge and thank the Captain, but decided against it. She was certain he knew she was on board when she felt the docking clamps release and the artificial gravity adjust. She decided to find a quiet corner behind a stack of barrels and sat down to await the three hour trip.               

                “Odo to Dukat.”              

                “Go ahead.”              

                “We have a bit of a problem. Kira Nerys has disappeared.”              

                Sick worry and a flash of anger flooded his body all at once and Dukat broke into a run back towards Quark’s bar. What if someone had snatched her? What if she had defied him and run? She wouldn’t have, would she? After the kindness he had shown her!              

                “Dukat to Ops, shut down the station. No more ships dock and none leave!” he roared through the comm as he rounded a corner and found himself back on the promenade, searching for Odo.               

                “Sir, the Ferrok just disengaged; shall I demand they return to the station?”              

                Dukat considered this. The pilot of the transport ship was one of those he trusted the most. He knew Torbilen Gubnel, commander of the ship, well enough to expect him to report any unauthorized occupants of his ship. “Hail his ship and put him through the comm,” he ordered.               

                “This is Torbilen Gubnel.”              

                “Torbilen, my good friend, you wouldn’t happen to have an unexpected Bajoran stowaway on your ship, would you?” Dukat grinned, knowing that were Kira onboard, Gubnel would be more than happy to beam her back.               

                Little did Dukat know that Gubnel had just finished counting the handsome silence payment the strange man in the hooded robe had paid him to transport the young woman in his cargo bay to the surface. For a moment, he teetered on the notion of launching himself higher into Dukat’s good graces by outing her, but the man in robes had informed him that were he to give into deceit, death would be a blessing compared to the price he would pay for such an act.               

                Even as he stared at the blinking light on his monitor, alerting him to the unauthorized life form of the Bajoran woman in his cargo bay, he deleted the alert and typed a command into the computer for it to be oblivious to her presence. He answered Dukat with a firm negative. He typed in a second command, making her presence aboard the ship to outside scans impossible to detect, just in case the Prefect had reason to doubt his word.                

                “Very well. Dukat out.” He set his sights on Odo. The odd man was going to have a lot of explaining to do as to how he allowed his precious Nerys to stray from his sight for even a nanosecond. He rose to his full, intimidating height as he stopped in front of his chief of security. “I demand an explanation.”              

                “Sir, I brought Kira Nerys to the Promenade as you stated was permissible. We had just entered this establishment when the brawl broke out. Knowing my duty to keep order on the station, I hurried to break up the disturbance. I did not believe for a moment she would run,” Odo explained.               

                Dukat resisted the urge to see if the shape shifter’s face would mold to his fist. “Your first duty was to Kira Nerys. I didn’t believe I had to outline that for you!” he growled through clenched teeth. “I want her found at all cost. All other security measures are to be suspended until she is found, is that clear?”              

                “Perfectly,” Odo replied, hoping that Kira had made it off the station on the Ferrok as he had planned.               

                “But what about my bar being robbed!” Quark erupted, overhearing Dukat’s order.              

                Dukat turned and shot him a look that would have dropped a more intelligent being where he stood. He scrutinized the Ferengi, wondering how he could be involved in the fact that Kira went missing exactly at the time his bar was robbed.                Sensing the scrutiny, Quark quickly recovered. “I suppose a few bars of latinum is a meager loss when measured against a commodity as precious as your Bajoran fe-male. How may I be of assistance in locating her, Prefect?”               The Prefect reeled back his suspicion, but continued to suspect the Ferengi’s involvement. “Help her to be found and you will be rewarded handsomely.”              

                Odo watched Quark’s eyes light up the color of latinum and saw the numbers ticking behind them. He held his breath for a moment, waiting for the devious little creature to out them, but was mildly surprised as Quark simply nodded, controlling his urge to increase his holdings.               

                “I will be sure to assist you in any way that I can, Prefect.”              

                Dukat nodded. “Good.” He shot one last parting look at Odo and watched as the security chief tapped the badge on his chest.               

                “Odo to all security personnel-- all current orders are rescinded until Kira Nerys is located. Begin active search and scans.”              

                He knew she would be found. She was smart, but not that smart. She might be able to evade the detection grid on the surface, but she would not evade him. And, once she was returned he would possess her, he would own her in all the possible definitions of the word.               

                As he entered Ops, he hailed the transport center at Ashalla where the Ferrok was due to land within the hour and alerted their security and the nearest military base to be certain to do a full search on the ship once it landed. She was not going to escape him. It was not an option.                 

*********

                Dawn was just beginning to break on the horizon and Solita rubbed the sleep from the corners of her eyes and looked towards where her companion slept with her head pillowed on her arm. Though she had gotten to sleep first, she now felt tired after taking the late watch. Several times she had almost woke Reanla after hearing various animals scampering through the forest during their nocturnal hunt for food.               

                As B’hava’el lit the sky, still hidden beneath the horizon, Solita decided it was time to wake the sleeping woman so that they could continue on their journey. They were near Ashalla, and though this was a rescue mission, Solita couldn’t help feeling a little excitement at the prospect of seeing the capital of their world. She had heard of the grandiose city but had never beheld it with her own eyes.               

                “Reanla, it’s time to wake up,” she said as she gently touched her shoulder. She wasn’t prepared for Reanla’s eyes to snap open, and watched her hand instantly go for the phaser. “No, no, it’s ok. It’s just me, Solita!” she quickly whispered.                Reanla blinked fuzzily.  For a fleeting moment, she felt disoriented, then remembered where they were and why they were more or less out in the open.  She quickly scrubbed at her eyes with a free hand, then nodded.  "Let's get going," she said in a low whisper.  "We need to get into the city in time to mingle with the morning crowds."              

                They slipped down through the remainder of the forest, pausing only to tend to necessary needs and each grab a sip of water from a small stream.  They made it just in time for the marketplace, for what it was worth, to really begin business for the day.  Ashalla's marketplace was merely an attempt to make appearances look normal--the shops were mostly owned by collaborators or relatives of collaborators and never sold very much, unless there were interested Cardassians or Bajorans lucky enough to have something for trade or who worked for one of the "kinder" Cardassians and therefore had meager funds to spend.  With the amount of people around, plus the handful of dirt Reanla had convinced Solita to rub into her hair to mask its white-blond shimmer, they were barely noticed.              

                Crossing through the city to the transport center took nearly three hours, between avoiding the Cardassians who were just looking for trouble and a couple of their own people who seemed to realize they were new to the city.  Now it was a game of sit and wait, to see if Nerys got off on any of the transports.  The stranger had told Shakaar thirteen hundred and, from B'hava'el's position above, it was between noon and that.              

                Solita felt as though her eyes were as big as serving saucers. Never before had she seen so many people in one place, buildings so grand, nor smelled so many delicious things wafting through the streets from vender booths and restaurants. She watched the poor children in rags dash between the crowds playing a game of chase and swiping fruits and other little delicious crumbles from the streets before the vendors could sweep them away. She longed to have had the opportunity to grow up such as they were-- wild and free. They were obviously orphans who had escaped the capture of the Cardassian-run camps and they laughed joyously.               

                Freedom. She prayed to the Prophets that they never knew what it was like to live a life in captivity as she had for so many years. She inhaled deeply, catching the scent of freshly baked bread and her stomach grumbled. She thought about asking Reanla if they had time for a snack, but decided to ignore the vicious churning in her belly. She couldn’t read her older companion and wasn’t certain if she had come to like her or was only tolerating her because she was the only other person in the cell small enough to travel without fearing the detection grid.               

                As they came upon the transport hub, she watched the ships coming in and wondered how they would know which one Kira was on. It wasn’t as though they could just approach the ships as they came in and peek in the cargo holds to see if she was there. She didn’t ask, either. She had learned that their conversation would be kept to a minimum and decided it would probably be better to just hold her tongue and wait for instructions.               

                Reanla was on edge as the appointed time crawled closer.  So as not to look too suspicious, she moved every ten minutes or so, pulling Solita with her.  They had just moved for the fourth time when a murmur of unrest came from the opposite side of the transport center.  Reanla's sharp ears caught the sound of phaser fire and she silently cursed.  She had the sinking feeling in her pagh that Nerys had been caught.  "Let's go!" she hissed to Solita before taking off at a hurried pace without even looking to see if the younger girl was on her heels. 

*********

                When the ship set down with a thud, Kira knew she had to move and quickly. She paced nervously as the hatch to the cargo hold hissed and decompressed, then lowered. Stealth was not an option. She poked her head out and saw people milling about, others headed towards the ship to unload the cargo with anti-grav carts. As casual and calm as she could muster, she slipped out of the cargo bay and headed away from the transport center. As she began to distance herself from the ship she had come in on, she heard the loud, angry voices of Cardassian soldiers and shot a look over her shoulders, catching sight of a group of about ten of them. They were moving about the crowd of people and thrusting a padd in front of their faces, demanding to know if they had seen anyone with the likeness of the person on the padd. She automatically knew it was her face being displayed on the padd.               

                Before she could turn her back to them, she caught the cold eyes of one of the larger men in the group. He wore the insignia of a Glinn and she saw recognition flicker in the dark depths of his eyes before the dropped to make a comparison to her likeness on the pad. Kira broke into a run and immediately heard the shouts behind her before the phaser fire started. She longed to have a weapon and wished Odo would have thought about giving her one. She was on her own, defenseless, as she darted through the crowd as people cried out in shock at the phaser fire that slashed through their midst.               

                Quickly, she made for the exit, hoping she would be able to lose them once she got into the city. There were so many little crevices and nooks she could squeeze herself into once she was deep in the heart of Ashalla. The street children would always hide her too, for a price. The earring that dangled from her right ear had been a gift from Lupaza, and though it sickened her to part with it, would pay nicely for her safety.                    

                Reanla was thankful she was tall and could see over at least half the heads in the crowd that was starting to gather.  It gave her the opportunity to see the flash of reddish hair attached to the fleeing figure that was heading for the streets leading away from the transport center.  But the phaser fire hadn't stopped and seemed to be getting closer.  Cursing under her breath, she dragged Solita with her and pulled out her own phaser.  "Do you know how to shoot??"                   

                Solita nodded, reaching for the weapon. She had never fired a phaser, but how hard could it be? Point and press, right? Seemed fairly simple. She ran along, her shorter legs trying to keep up with Reanla’s pace. She could hear the phaser blasts as the crowd scattered and people screamed. She wondered if they were going to run smack dab into Kira Nerys.                    

                Reanla ducked around an older man who was trying to drag a younger man with him, and slammed hard into another body.  The impact made her drop her phaser and she cursed in Ilvian as she dove to scoop it back up before any of those running for their lives kicked it out of reach.                   

                "Kaelinn?!"                   

                Reanla's gaze shot up to meet shocked eyes as brown as her own.  "Nerys...thank the Prophets.  We have to get you out of here."  They quickly pulled each other up just as Solita made it to their side.  "Let's go."                   

                "Who--"                   

                "Her name's Vilena.  No time," Reanla said shortly.  The explanations would have to wait until they made it to safety.  She looked to Solita.  "Go with Nerys--I'll cover."                   

                Before Solita could respond her eyes caught sight of a familiar form and she froze, making eye contact with him. The recognition flickered in his eyes and he raised his hand to point at her.                    

                “That girl! I want her alive!” Dernik roared, pointing towards her as the crowd parted around her.                    

                “Go!” Reanla hollered at her, pushing her into motion.                   

                Solita felt a hand grip hers and drag her along, but she felt like she was stuck in slow motion. She could hear her former master yelling out orders behind her. Even as they heard the cries of distress from the soldiers Reanla shot, she had a terrible feeling of foreboding.                    

                Kira pulled the lithe girl along at her side and paused for a moment to assess their location and which direction they should turn to escape. She looked towards the running crowd and took the other direction out towards where the ships were put down. She turned and saw Reanla trailing them, providing cover fire. She pulled Solita behind one of the shuttles and felt a phaser being pushed into her hand.                    

                “I think you’d handle it better than I would,” Solita said.                   

                Most of the crowd had fled but there were a few stragglers and, partly to Reanla's surprise, they helped deter the small patrol from advancing further.  One even had a weapon of his own, but he proved no good at it and was soon shot down.  Reanla cursed under her breath and fired blindly at the soldier who had killed the man.  When she glanced back before ducking out of sight, she saw that her shot had been lucky--the soldier was dead with a phaser burn in his head.  That left four of them, including the squadron leader who'd recognized Solita.                   

                Nerys' voice hissing her name made her head snap around.  She finally spotted them crouched behind one of the larger derelict shuttles and gestured them to follow her.  Another hundred meters and they would have to round the corner and would be out of sight in the slums that surrounded the transport center.  She wasn't surprised to see that Nerys had the phaser.                   

 _How many?_   Kira mouthed the silent question.                   

                Reanla flashed four fingers of her free hand as the other two joined her.                   

 _The leader?_ Kira gestured.                   

                Reanla shook her head.  _Still alive_.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Solita was reading their lips and the way she paled.  That made getting out of here even more imperative....                   

                Kira leaned around the shuttle to gauge how long it would take them to make it to the slum village and saw the Cardassians taking cover, trying to gain the vantage point on them. Just a few meters and they could take cover behind the hull of a disassembled shuttle then slip away into obscurity.                    

 _Cover me_ , she mouthed to Reanla then slid out from behind the shuttle but was pinned down by fire behind the remains of a landing strut.                    

                Solita felt fear grip her heart as she watched Dernik move into a position that gave a perfect shot at Kira. She screamed and broke into a run, diving in front of Kira and taking the full blast of the phaser in the chest.                    

                Prophets, NO!  The thought was a scream in Reanla's mind, but it came out in a whisper when the girl suddenly fled from her side, only to take the shot meant to kill Nerys.  As Solita collapsed with a shriek of agony, Reanla's fury mounted and she took a shot at the squadron leader, missing by a hair.  Another blast seared over her head and she ducked just in time.  Kira answered from her position with fire of her own and a yell of pain was heard off to their left.  Another shot, another yell that indicated a successful hit.  Reanla exchanged a few more shots with the soldier that was off to the far right and finally saw him go down.                   

                By her count, that left only the squadron leader, unless he had backup they didn't know about.  And if he did, they were in it deep.  She quickly scurried to Kira's side, keeping her eyes and ears open for the squadron leader--or any other Cardassians.  Kira was doing the same, one hand on Solita's head, the other with phaser up and ready.  To her shock, the girl was still barely breathing, though every breath was obviously a struggle.  She wouldn't last the hour and there was no way to carry her out of here even if she could survive.                   

                Solita gasped for breath as Kira and Reanla hovered over her. Kira pressed her hand against the wound, trying to ebb the bleeding and Solita’s face screwed up in pain. She felt her breath coming in ragged staccato, darkness began to rim her eyes. A tear slipped from her crystal blue eyes as she gazed up at Kira Nerys. Relief swelled through her as she realized she had saved Kira and it, numbed the pain long enough for her to force words past her lips. "I'm sorry for having-- wronged you. Forgive-- me?" she pleaded as her lifeblood seeped into the earth of Bajor and between Kira's fingers as it refused to clot.               

                “I owe you my life, leh’le. I forgive you,” Kira whispered, knowing, but not wanting to believe this little girl was going to die in her arms.

            “It’s okay,” Solita whispered, her breath failing her quickly, “I can greet the Prophets in the Celestial-- Temple w-with a c-clear conscience because you are-- s-safe.” As her chest rose with her final breath, Solita’s vision blurred and then her mortality expired, her pagh rushed from her body to be welcomed into the arms of the Prophets.

            As the child in her arms failed to draw another breath, Kira held her in her arms, alive only for the great sacrifice she had made. Tears for the life lost escaped down her cheeks as she felt her pagh sister’s hands wrapping around her, pulling her to her feet. She heard Reanla insist that they had to move, they had to run if they were going to escape. Kira did as she was instructed, but her mind was still on the beautiful girl who lay dead on the ground, having taken the phaser blast to protect her. She owed her everything and mentally promised to light the small oil lamp which she used to serve as her duranja and she would offer a prayer for Solita’s pagh.

            "We have to move, Nerys!"  Reanla managed to pull Kira away from Solita's body and just as they rose, another phaser shot nearly took their toes off.  Advancing on them was the squadron leader and he was only about ten meters away.  He cursed when he saw he'd missed them and increased his pace even as they were breaking into a run, tapping at his comm and ordering backup even as he took aim at Kira again.  Reanla didn't hesitate, spinning around to face Dernik and pausing only long enough to aim.  Her shot hit Dernik directly in the throat and his look of surprise as he collapsed was almost laughable.  She didn't even wait to see that he was indeed dead as she gained speed again, ducking beneath another derelict and then following Kira at a swift run into the heart of Ashalla's slums.

            Neither of them stopped and did their best to make sure no one got a good look at their faces during the hour-long journey.  They skirted the marketplace, noticing the extra soldiers patrolling--no doubt looking for Kira, if not the both of them, and finally made it into the forest just as B'hava'el was beginning to set.

            They made camp about a kilometer into the forest. They were close enough to still see the lights of Ashalla, but deep enough in the thicket to hide from any searching soldiers. Sleep would be restless and light if it came at all.

            “Why did she have to do it?” Kira whispered as she munched on a ration cake, not out of hunger but out of necessity. She had felt somewhat numb since she had held the dying girl in her arms. There was something so unfair about what had happened to the beautiful blonde-haired girl who had given her life for her.

            Reanla had already eaten her share and now she put an arm around Kira.  "She wanted to absolve herself for the wrong she'd done you."  When Kira shook her head in puzzlement, Reanla quietly related to her everything that Solita had told the cell members, including her own reaction to Solita's confession.  "She was first to insist that she come to retrieve you when Shakaar received the comm from that stranger on Terok Nor."

            She couldn’t help but feel warmly towards Odo. Perhaps some day, she would tell her pagh-sister of the risks he took to help ensure her safety and her escape. And, maybe some day she would see him again so she could thank him for all he had done for her. As she lay back in the thicket, hoping for sleep to claim her, she thought of Dukat. The unresolved feelings that still stirred deeply within her would remain her secret. She was confused over how she was feeling in regards to the man who had imposed such suffering upon her people. She had gotten a glimpse into his softer nature, the side of him that was not for the soldiers he commanded or the people on Bajor he oppressed. If she were to be honest with herself, it was a side of him she could, eventually, have come to love if she had been forced to remain as his prisoner. That very thought sent a shiver down her spine and gained her a curious look from her companion.

            "Are you all right, Nerys?"  When the other girl nodded, Reanla sighed and sat back against the trunk of the nearest tree.  She would let Kira get some sleep and then, in the dark of the night, they could head back towards the mountains, to the Shakaar hideout and safety.

 

*********

 

            Skrain Dukat paced the floor in his quarters until he thought he had worn a groove in the deck plates. He knew he should have gone to the surface himself. Perhaps she would have responded better to him. Where had he gone wrong? He had thought he had earned her trust; had thought they were getting somewhere. He had held her in his arms, had pressed a kiss to her forehead. Surely that meant something?

            Anger crept in and he picked up a vase off of the table, launching it across the room, where it impacted with a wall and shattered into millions of pieces. He wanted to hate her for her deception and what angered him the most was his inability to hate her. Once he had her back, it would be the same song and dance. All would be forgiven and he wouldn’t allow himself to hurt her. She could never be in any danger from him. The troops knew she was to be taken alive at all costs. So help the man who ever actually brought harm to his Nerys. Any previous pain he had suffered prior would seem like a tickle compared to when he was through with them.

            He picked up a padd off of his desk and stared at her likeness as it was reflected back at him. The image was of poor quality, but it was the only one he had. He caressed her hair, her cheek and continued to stare at her. Her expression was hardened in determination, her eyes blazing with her internal fire. How could he ever hate something so beautiful and so precious to him? It would be like hating his wife or his own children.

            As he laid the padd back on the desk, he folded his hands in thought. Normally, he would have been angry at such failure. He had failed to capture the Shakaar resistance cell, had failed to keep Kira Nerys contained. It didn’t matter. He had held her in his arms. He had felt the sweet warmth of her alien body against his own coolness. He had touched the silken strands of her fire-colored hair. He had been privileged to behold the beauty that she was fresh from her shower. He was poisoned with her.

            Dukat pulled the armor from his body until he found himself standing nude beside his bed, visions of Kira still fresh in his mind. He wondered where she was and what she was doing at that very moment. Had she been poisoned with him as well? She had seen him at his weakest, most vulnerable and he could only hope that it had made an impact on her. Perhaps now, she would be able to look at him with softer eyes, would know in her heart that he was not the monster she was brought up to believe he was.

            As sleep claimed him, he tried to imagine that she lay curled into him; her arm draped across his chest, her head pillowed on his shoulder as his fingers lazily twisted in her hair. Some day, they would meet again and things would be different. Some day, he would hold her in his arms, tell her of the feelings he had for her and they would consummate their relationship. Some day, Kira Nerys would be his. Some day…

 

Epilogue:

 

            The journey back took well into the next evening, as the two girls had to spend time hiding from various patrols they encountered along the way.  But finally, by nightfall, they slipped into the shadows cast by the hills.  Jeniat was outer guard that night and he left his position only long enough to make sure they made it into the caves, where they were welcomed first by Lupaza, then the entire cell.

            "Where's the little girl?" Mobara finally questioned after twenty minutes of impromptu celebration.

            “She bravely gave her life for me,” Kira replied. The words still didn’t sound right. Someone had given their life to the Prophets so that she might live. It struck a chord deeply inside, knowing that she was only alive due to the sacrifice of another. And how many others, exactly? What if the Prefect had found out the quirky little Ferengi? Or, worse, what if he had learned what Odo had done? She felt a rueful smile touch her lips at the thought of Odo. She wished he would have come with her. He was not like them. He was not a Cardassian and didn’t belong there with them.

            Reanla set a hand gently on Kira's shoulder as the joyful mood gave way to a sober one.  "The leader of the squadron pursuing us took aim at Nerys--Solita threw herself in the line of fire." 

            “We owe her a debt then. Tonight we will celebrate her great sacrifice so that Nerys might live,” Shakaar decided. “I have a bottle of spring wine I have saved for just such an occasion.”

            Nerys smiled slightly, brought out of her fond thoughts of Odo and those who helped secure her escape from Terok Nor. “Thank you, but we have something we have to do first,” she said, taking her pagh-sister’s hand and leading her away from the group. “And, I have someone I want to tell you about.”

            They retreated to their corner of the cave, a small alcove naturally carved by the floodwaters that had created the cavern system several millennia ago.  There was barely room for the both of them, their pallets, a small box containing one change of clothes for each of them, a lamp, and a few personal effects, but it was a private space they could share.

            Reanla settled on her pallet, sighing as she pushed back a stray strand of hair.  "I only need to know one thing, Nerys--did Dukat....touch you?"  If Nerys had been violated by the Prefect in the same way she herself had been violated by Glinn Varsal during her time at Gallitep, she wasn't sure she was prepared for the answer if it turned out to be yes.

            She turned Reanla’s words over in her mind. Had Dukat violated her? Quite the opposite. She wanted to hate him for forcing her to develop a soft spot for him. How could she ever explain to her pagh sister about the side of him no one ever saw? How could she tell her that she had stood nude before him and he had done nothing but look? How could she tell her that she had lain in his arms and he had sweetly pressed his lips to her forehead? And, did it mean she would hesitate for a moment if she held him in the sights of her phaser?

            “No, Kaelinn, he didn’t violate me in the same as… well, he didn’t rape me,” she stumbled on the words. 

            Kira's words both chilled and relieved Reanla.  If Dukat hadn't raped Nerys--what had he done to her??  Somehow she knew that pressing her friend for details wouldn't work.  "As long as you're all right?"

            Seeing the worry on Kae’s face was enough for her to snap out of her reverie. “I am just fine. In fact, I met some very interesting people on Terok Nor. The Ferengi barkeep was quite a riot and then, there was Odo.”

            "Odo?"  Reanla repeated curiously.  "Isn't he the one who contacted Shakaar out of the blue?"

            Nerys tried to disguise the momentary dreamy-eyed look as she thought about the man who had risked his own to save her life. He was resourceful and she knew that, with his abilities, Dukat would never be able to capture and harm him for his role in her escape, were he to find out. She really hoped she would see the unique man again. She felt a warmth within as she thought about the hours they had spent sharing conversation and getting to know each other.

            Reanla watched the emotions flicker through Kira's eyes and wondered at them.  What did this stranger mean to her pagh-sister?  "And?" she prodded gently in a teasing tone when Kira remained silent.  "Is he more handsome than Shakaar or is there some other reason you look like a dumb-struck cherka, Nerys?"

            She felt the blush creep into her cheeks at Kaelinn having caught her thinking about the man who was charged with saving her life. At her inquiring look, Nerys broke into a giggle then covered her mouth with both hands, quickly. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to speak again without laughing until her pagh-sister wiped that inquisitive look off of her face.

            "Well--are you going to tell me or not, Nerys??"  Reanla's curiosity was getting the better of her.  "What is this Odo like??"

            “He is… well he is unique. He has the kindest blue eyes and perhaps even saved me from being raped and beaten by two of Dukat’s thugs. If it weren’t for Odo, I wouldn’t be here now. I only wish he had come with me. He doesn’t belong there with the Cardassians. Perhaps one day we will meet again. Then I can at least thank him for risking his life to save me from Dukat and his intentions of taking me as his new mistress.”

            Reanla shuddered at the idea of Nerys remaining in Dukat's clutches and was silently grateful that this stranger had come to her aid.  Impulsively, she let go of Nerys' hands and threw her arms around the other girl.  "Then I owe him a great debt as well--and I hope I am there to thank him with you."

            When she was released from the embrace, Nerys reached for the little oil lamp that served as her duranja and lit it. She moved so they were seated across from each other and took her pagh sisters hand so that they might honor Vilena Solita’s pagh and ask the Prophets to watch over her.

            “Raka-ja ut shala morala... ema bo roo kana... uranak... ralanon Vilena... propeh va nara ehsuk shala-kan vunek,” they chanted in unison with their heads bowed over the glowing lamp.

            As they chanted the prayer, Kira Nerys’ thoughts strayed to the bright star that was Terok Nor in the dark sky that had wrapped around Bajor for another night. Some day, she would go back and Skrain Dukat would rue the day he learned the name Kira Nerys. Between now and then she could bury the unwanted stirrings within her pagh. Some day, she would return to Terok Nor and steal everything away from him as he had stolen Bajor's freedom. Some day, he would look at Bajor and see her face, knowing that she had helped to knock him from his throne of power. Some day...

 

_The Beginning…_


End file.
